Marcel Sabitzer wasn't on Manchester United's agenda in the days leading up to January's transfer deadline - but the Austrian international has made the most of his opportunity to deputise for the injured Christian Eriksen.
Once it became clear that Eriksen would be sidelined for the majority of the campaign, Erik ten Hag and the Old Trafford hierarchy acted swiftly to thrash out a deal with Bayern Munich to bring Sabitzer to the Premier League until the end of the season.
It was a move that suited all parties: United bagged a more than adequate deputy for Eriksen whilst Sabitzer would have the opportunity to play regularly again after falling out of favour in Munich.
Recent reports have claimed that Sabitzer would be 'happy' to move to Old Trafford on a permanent basis if Manchester United decide they would like to keep the 29-year-old beyond the end of the current campaign.
And while that would have, in theory, been a relatively easy deal to do, the shock sacking of Julian Nagelsmann last week has the scope to throw a spanner in the weeks. The highly-rated German coach was ruthlessly axed by the Bundesliga giants - even though the 35-year-old had guided Bayern to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and second in the domestic standings.
Bayern promptly appointed former Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel as Nagelsmann's successor - and there's every chance that the German could have designs on implementing Sabitzer into his squad next season.
Sabitzer has enjoyed a new lease of life since swapping Munich for Manchester and caught the eye during the international breakout with a spellbinding performance for Austria in their 4-1 win over Azerbaijan over the weekend.
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The midfielder scored twice and bagged an assist to help Ralf Rangnick's side kick off their Euro 2024 campaign in style - and Sabitzer's boss, who had a short stint in the Old Trafford dugout before Erik ten Hag's arrival back in the summer, believes the playmaker's move to Manchester United has helped to rebuild his confidence.
The ex-United interim chief told Laola1 : “He [Sabitzer] has a lot more confidence than when he was at Bayern. Nobody dropped out in this game, but of course you can say that ‘Sabi’ was the difference player after scoring two goals and preparing one.”
Sabitzer was also full of praise for Ten Hag in the build-up to Austria's big win over Azerbaijan. He told club media : “The manager [Ten Hag] does a lot of work. He is a hard worker, very structured and he’s helping us a lot with his game-plans, with training.
“He’s a very good coach, tactical, and, as a guy too, we are enjoying the fact that he is our manager and are looking forward to working together and bringing trophies to Man United.”
