When Christian Eriksen got injured by Andy Carroll of Reading in United’s FA Cup match, which they won 3–1, it left fans and coaches sweating over his fitness. Later, it was confirmed that the Danish midfielder was out until April or May. It left United scrambling for a midfielder who could partner Casemiro. United couldn’t buy any star players due to their ownership change, and their rivals were buying players left, right, and center. News came that United had been offered Isco, Saul, Houssem Aouar, and Yannick Carrasco. Manchester United, having signed Jack Butland and Wout Weghorst, ended their January transfer window when they managed to sweep in Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer on deadline day.
The Austrian international has joined United on loan until the end of the season from Bayern Munich. He was signed in the final hours of the transfer window after United announced Christian Eriksen would be out until late April or early May due to an injury.
Erik Ten Hag wanted his partner Ryan Gravenberch, who the Dutch trained at Ajax but was turned down by the Bavarian club, according to Sky Sports.
Eriksen has been a key player for United, combining to play in the №6 or №8 position. The Danish midfielder has been the central cog between defence and attack, receiving the ball from Casemiro and creating attacking opportunities for attackers placed in front of him. With Scott McTominay nursing a small problem and Donny Van De Beek sidelined for the rest of the season, it forced United to dive into the transfer market.
We will look into who the Austrian midfielder is.
Sabitzer joined Admira Wacker’s youth academy in July 2009. He played for Rapida Wien from 2013 to 2014. He signed a four-year contract with RB Leipzig in 2014 and was loaned to its sister club, RB Salzburg. Sabitzer returned to Leipzig in 2015–16, and he extended his contract till 2021. Over the six years at Leipzig, he scored 52 goals and provided 42 assists in 229 games for RB Leipzig. He joined Bayern Munich in 2021. In the 54 matches he played, he scored two goals and had two assists, which is hardly anything to get excited about. On February 1, 2023, he joined Manchester United on loan until the end of the season.
What position he plays in and 2022/23 season
He plays as a central midfielder, but his goal-scoring exploits come from his forward-thinking mindset. He played much further forward at Salzburg. His goal streak began when Sadio Mane was sold to Southampton in 2014, where he scored 19 goals. Sabitzer is a versatile right-footed player with experience in a variety of positions across the pitch. He can be deployed as a central midfielder, a wide attacker, between the lines, or as attacking support behind a centre forward. Sabitzer’s ability to move on the blind side of opponents, exploit gaps in the opposition’s midfield, and penetrate with forward runs of his own enhances his ability to progress play into the final third. From the heatmap, we can see that he has been deployed as a left-central midfielder. The bright orange spot signifies the actions he took in the form of passes, shots, assists, defensive contributions, and so on.
We will break his actions into
Passing
- Pass Maps
- Pass to final third
- Progressive Pass
- Assists
Defensive Contributions
- Tackles made and Won
- Interceptions made and won
Goal scoring ability
Touches Made
Passing
Pass Maps
The Austrian has an excellent passing range. He is known for his line-breaking passes, and switching up the play to wide players on either side of the pitch. In the 15 matches that he played, he made a total of 868 passes, out of which he completed 402 passes. He completed 57.61 passes per match, taking him to the 96th percentile. From the heatmap, we can see that he made most of his passes on the left side, but he also switched up the play by passing to wide players on the right side of the pitch.
Pass to the final third
Sabitzer’s ability to move on the blind side of opponents, exploit gaps in the opposition’s midfield,, and penetrate with forward runs of his own enhances his ability to progress play into the final third. The Austrian made a total of 110 passes to the final third. He made 5.16 passes per 90, taking him to the 91 percentile.
Progressive Passes
The Austrian progresses the play with ease and penetrates opposing back lines. With his work in the key channels, many of his attacking connections come in the pass before the assist. The Austrian made a total of 36 progressive passes, making 5.46 passes per 90, taking him to the 95 percentile.
Assists Made
Sabitzer couldn’t replicate the form he had at both Red Bull clubs, as in Bayern over the two seasons he could only provide two assists in 54 matches played. This season he made only one assist, making 0.14 assist per 90, taking him to the 77 percentile.
Defensive Contributions
Tackles Made and won
Sabitzer is effective at delaying attacks, whether he hops from midfield to press the opponent or tackles his direct opponent. He is adept at collecting the second ball, as he is good aerially. He works hard to press from behind. He made a total of 27 tackles, winning 11 of them. He made 3.87 tackles per match, winning 2.01 of them. It puts him in the 98th percentile in tackles made, and he ranks in the 96th percentile in winning them. From the heat map, we can see that he made most of his tackles in the middle of the park.
Interceptions made and won
The Austrian made ten timely interceptions, winning ten of them. He made a total of 1.43 interceptions per match, putting him in the 85 percentile. From the heat map, he made most of his interceptions in the middle of the park.
Goal scoring ability
Sabitzer scored a total of 59 goals while playing for Red Bull teams. Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champions, purchased him as a result. But he couldn’t replicate the form he had at RB Leipzig and Salzburg. In two seasons, he scored only two goals. He only scored one goal this season, but he did take a lot of shots. He had taken 18 shots, out of which he was able to make keeper saves 10 times. He had taken 2.15 shots per match, taking him to the 95 percentile, out of which he was on target 0.72 times, taking him to the 85 percentile.
Visualization
Based on the above radar, we compared Sabitzer to Eriksen and how he will fit into the United side. Eriksen had made more assists than the Austrian, as the Danish midfielder made seven assists compared to the Austrian’s only one. It puts him in the whopping 98 percentile. However, in pass completion, he ranks lower than Sabitzer. However, Eriksen’s intelligence and experience have provided the United States with a crucial measure of control. The Austrians rank higher in final-third passes and progressive passes. Eriksen falters in defensive duties, as Sabitzer is defensively sound, ranking in the 98th percentile for tackles made.
Final Verdict
Sabitzer brings assiduity and technical ability to the midfield. Though he came as a temporary stopgap for Christian Eriksen, he will ensure Danish’s absence has less impact on the team for the remainder of the season.
