Ten Hag to save £25m with CHEAPER and BETTER Sabitzer alternative

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 15 May 2023 21:27 BST
• 14 min read

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has found a smart alternative to Marcel Sabitzer to fill a vacant spot in the Old Trafford side’s squad.

Sabitzer arrived during the January transfer window to bolster United’s midfield numbers, arriving on a loan deal from Bayern Munich.

Although the Austria international has performed a solid role in the interim, there are doubts whether a £25 million investment in the 29-year-old is the best use of the club’s summer transfer funds.

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Man Utd may be on the verge of a takeover, but the delayed nature of the sale has thrown a spanner into the works for Ten Hag’s summer transfer plans. The manager is uncertain what type of funds he will have to work with and has several areas he wishes to strengthen.

With that in mind, the move for Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot that the Red Devils are ready to make appears a far smarter one.

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Why Man Utd should pick Rabiot over Sabitzer

There is virtually no downside to Man Utd picking Rabiot over Sabitzer.

Data analytics experts SciSports rate him as the superior central midfielder, albeit in a slightly different role to the current Manchester United man. He is more of a ball-winning midfielder than Sabizter, who displays more characteristics of a deep-lying playmaker, yet this is a role that the World Cup finalist has played before.

On top of that, Rabiot is a year younger and commands no transfer fee as he is a free agent in June.

Rabiot has been Serie A's best midfielder this season

Perhaps the biggest stumbling block to any deal might be Rabiot’s infamous agent and mother Veronique, whose hard bargaining when United were interested in a move last summer was one of the reasons that a deal broke down.

There is also the threat that she could become outspoken if she felt her son was not getting the game time he deserved.

But for Ten Hag and Man Utd, Rabiot is a risk worth taking on a free transfer, as he could free up valuable funds to be spent elsewhere.