The contrast between Manchester United’s January transfer activity and previous windows has been striking. Last summer, United spent weeks and weeks in an ultimately fruitless quest to get Frenkie De Jong to Old Trafford. This time last year, they were frantically shovelling players out of the door on loan while bringing in no-one new whatsoever.
To old United, this might have felt like a catastrophe. But the Manchester United of 2023 feels very different and this was reflected in the speed with which they managed to secure the services of Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich for the remainder of the season. As a player, Sabitzer cannot really be considered a direct replacement for Eriksen and further shuffling may be needed to accommodate him.
If there’s one lesson that Manchester United definitely seem to have learned since the arrival of Erik ten Hag, it’s that building a successful team isn’t all about the signings that will make the club’s commercial partners purr, or which have come about because of the unduly persuasive influence of agents and representatives. Marcel Sabitzer’s arrival feels like a signing guided by people who understand football better than they understand noodle partners or replica shirt sales.
Similarly, the arrival of Jack Butland as cover for David De Gea was surprisingly sensible. Martin Dubravka had been brought in on loan for the first half of this season from Newcastle United, but Newcastle wanted him back at the start of January and Butland, who was highly rated and has played nine times for England but whose career has been stalled somewhat by injuries and patchy form, seems like a decent enough replacement for the second half of this season as cover.