Marcel Sabitzer could be assigned his dream shirt number at Manchester United should the Austria midfielder complete his proposed deadline day loan to Old Trafford.
After losing Christian Eriksen to injury - with the playmaker expected to be sidelined for at least three months - United are working on a temporary deal with Bayern Munich to sign Sabitzer before the 11pm deadline tonight. But will they get that swoop across the line?
It has all gathered pace rather quickly and the relevant parties have several hours to iron out the move. United will not be hampered by the earlier Bundesliga deadline, either, as that 5pm cut-off only covers incomings.
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Sabitzer, 28, has played 54 games for Bayern since moving to the Germany heavyweights from RB Leipzig last summer. However, while he has featured regularly, the 68-cap international has traffic in his way for starts with Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka among those preferred by manager Julian Nagelsmann.
That has opened up the door for United with Eriksen, Scott McTominay (knock) and Donny van de Beek (knee) all injured right now as Erik ten Hag and his squad continue their charge in four competitions. Sabitzer has been identified as the man to solve those short-term selection issues.
Should his would-be move go through, he could even grab his dream shirt number, with the famous number 7 still left unassigned after Cristiano Ronaldo left the club for a second time. United might not allow a loan player to take up such an iconic number, but Sabitzer wore number 7 throughout his seven-year stay at Leipzig.
He currently wears number 18 for Bayern and number 9 for the Austrian national team. Should number 7 not be an option for Sabitzer at Old Trafford, he could choose between 13, 15, 24, 32 and 35.
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