Manchester United’s newest recruit Marcel Sabitzer has sat down for his first club interview ahead of his potential debut this weekend.
The 28-year-old completed a loan move to the Red Devils from Bayern Munich on deadline day just hours after the extent of Christian Eriksen’s ankle injury was confirmed – the Dane will miss around three months of action and could return by early May.
Credit where it’s due, the club acted quickly and efficiently to seek an appropriate midfielder to fill the void of Eriksen, who has contributed the most assists of any United player this season. Sabitzer is a like-for-like alternative and is proven in Europe, namely the Bundesliga, where he has played since 2014.
He will wear the No.15 and is in line to make his first appearance on Saturday when the Reds take on Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. The Austria international was in the stands last night when United booked their place in the Carabao Cup final after a 2-0 win (5-0 aggregate) over Nottingham Forest. It was the team’s 12th consecutive win on home turf.
Sabitzer’s first interview
Speaking to MUTV, the player weighed in on Ten Hag’s mantra of ‘good is not good enough’, saying: “Of course, keep going every single day, put it all out [there] in training sessions, that’s why I’m here. I like the way he plays, his teams play, he’s a good coach and I’m looking forward to meeting him and playing under him.”
He was then asked whether or not he classes himself a ‘bad loser’ and admitted, “Yeah [laughs], I’m a very bad loser. Even in training, I can’t lose. I have that mentality over the years. I hate to lose.”
The former RB Leipzig captain touched on his mentality as a leader, adding: “That is my mentality; to go forward, have a voice in the dressing room, on the pitch and give it all. That’s normal for me.”
“When you’re at a very young age, you don’t think a lot – you’re free to play, you like to play a lot. The first years were easy for me, I just did what I loved the most.” Sazbiter said, having made his professional debut at just 16 years old. “But when the career went on, I had to handle the pressure, deal with it; but I think I’m mentally strong and I do what I love the most, so, all good.”
