Manchester United could reportedly make Bayern Munich midfielder Marcel Sabitzer’s loan move permanent if he manages to impress over the coming months, as per ESPN.
Following the loan signing of Wout Weghorst to provide depth in the attack early on in the January window, it seemed unlikely that Man Utd would do any more business last month.
However, following Christian Eriksen’s lengthy ankle injury, Erik ten Hag was forced to explore options in the transfer market to replace the Denmark international. United acted quickly and ended up signing Sabitzer from the German giants on deadline day.
The Austrian international has joined the record Premier League champions on a straight loan deal and there aren’t any options included in the contract to make the move permanent.
However, according to the report by ESPN, Manchester United are open to signing Sabitzer on a permanent basis in the summer if he impressed during his loan stint.
Manchester United to keep Sabitzer beyond this season
The report also claims that Ten Hag has promised his January loan additions, Weghorst and Sabitzer, that they would be signed permanently if they perform well between now and the end of this season. And the Dutch boss hopes that this promise would act as an incentive to bring the best out of them.
Sabitzer joined Bayern during the summer of 2021 from RB Leipzig for a fee of around £13m. However, the move didn’t pan out for the 28-year-old as he failed to break into Julian Nagelsmann’s starting eleven. And ESPN now says that he wants to leave Bayern permanently next summer and the Bundesliga outfit are ready to cash-in.
The midfielder has looked promising in his first two appearances in the Red Devils’ colours. So, he would be a very good acquisition if the club hierarchy decide to make his loan deal permanent.
Sabitzer – valued at around £18m by Transfermarkt – will have two years left in his current contract in the summer. So, it remains to be seen how much Bayern will ask for their wantaway star if Man Utd opt to try and sign him permanently at the end of the season.
