Although Manchester United's decision to appoint Ralf Rangnick as interim manager last season was baffling, there certainly would have been merit in bringing the Gerrman to the club as a football director, a position held by John Murtough.
Rangnick had a varied managerial career before replacing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but he'd only managed RB Leipzig for two seasons in the last decade prior to joining United, which meant he'd become more known for his boardroom experience.
The 64-year-old enjoyed great success working as football director for both RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg and he was responsible for bargain deals for Joshua Kimmich, Ibrahima Konate, Naby Keita, Timo Werner and Marcel Sabitzer, to name a few.
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His ability to identify talent in the transfer market can't be argued with and he gave Sabitzer, who signed for United on loan from Bayern Munich late on transfer deadline day, a glowing appraisal in an interview from Kicker in March 2020.
Rangnick said: "His [Sabitzer] development couldn't have been any better. He has never liked to lose, which I absolutely believe is a positive thing. But he used to get a little too fired up. He has clearly changed for the better and has become a leader.
"The way he has developed his personality is remarkable. I've only rarely experienced something similar."
Sabitzer was not expected to sign for United in January, but following Tuesday's confirmation that Christian Eriksen is set to be sidelined until April with an ankle injury, the club were forced into action to offset his absence.
Eriksen joined United on a free transfer in the summer gone and he quickly became undroppable, which means his presence will be missed, but the signing of Sabitzer is perhaps the best 'panic buy' of the entire January transfer window.
Sabitzer established himself as one of Europe's finest midfielders during his seven years with RB Leipzig, a club which he made over 200 appearances for, and he's a shrewd acquisition for United.
The 28-year-old might have slipped down the midfield pecking order at Bayern Munich, but he remains an excellent talent and his statistics when compared to Eriksen's show why Ten Hag will be delighted with his arrival in Manchester.
To begin with, while Sabitzer has not averaged as many assists per 90 as Eriksen this season, he's superior in other key areas, like dribbling and attacking actions, which suggest he might be more comfortable on the ball than his new teammate.
Sabitzer has averaged 0.27 successful drives per 90 in the Bundesliga this season, which is more than double what Eriksen has averaged each game in the Premier League, while he's also recorded significantly more shots than the Dane.
However, although Eriksen and Sabitzer are closely matched on offensive metrics, the latter is quite an upgrade in defensive areas, as he's actually superior on all of those metrics, which shows he'll excel alongside the world-class Casemiro.
Sabitzer is composed under pressure, he's rarely dispossessed in dangerous areas during games in the Bundesliga and he seems like the perfect Eriksen 'replacement' for the remainder of the season, or until he recovers from his ankle injury.
Eriksen has been outstanding since signing for United but he might struggle to get into back the team with Sabitzer at the club.
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