The Styrian came to Munich in the summer of 2021 together with coach Julian Nagelsmann from RB Leipzig, where he was unable to establish himself as a regular player. His situation with the German record champion would have worsened if, as expected, compatriot Konrad Laimer also switched from Leipzig to Munich in the summer.
With Christian Eriksen out for a long time, United were looking for a replacement in midfield. The Dane is expected to be absent from his club until the end of April or early May due to an injury. Eriksen injured his ankle after being fouled in Saturday’s FA Cup game against Reading (3-1).
Sabitzer was signed by Bayern as the coach’s dream player. After a difficult first season, it looked as if he would play a more prominent role in his second season. But recently he had to be content with the role of a supplementary player in the heavily occupied midfield.
Munich signed João Cancelo from Manchester City on Tuesday. Before the full-back, FC Bayern had brought in goalkeeper Yann Sommer from Borussia Mönchengladbach and Daley Blind, who was recently without a club, in the winter. Sabitzer is Bayern’s first departure this winter. The English media initially said that Chelsea were also interested in the Austrian because center player Jorginho switched to Premier League leaders Arsenal for 15 million euros. Instead of the Italian European champion, Sabitzer is not coming, but the Argentine world champion Enzo Fernandez from Benfica Lisbon – for the British record sum of 106.8 million pounds (121 million euros).
While the transfer time in England, Italy and France ended at midnight and in Spain at 8 p.m., in Germany it was already over at 6 p.m. Here, on the last day, an unsuccessful transfer caused the greatest excitement. Former Real Madrid star Isco was already at Union Berlin for a medical check-up, but the commitment fell through at the last second. The player and club side accused each other of not having kept agreements.