'Play the same way' - Man Utd's Sabitzer admitted he's inspired by Liverpool great

Manchester United's deadline day signing Marcel Sabitzer has admitted that he is a huge admirer of one former Liverpool star.

The Bayern Munich midfielder's move looked to come out of nowhere. Erik ten Hag was forced into action after news emerged that playmaker Christian Eriksen had suffered an ankle injury, which could see him miss the majority of the season.

With Donny van de Beek sidelined for the remainder of the campaign and Scott McTominay facing a spell away with a muscle injury, the Red Devils were left with no choice but to invest.

Sabitzer has struggled to break into the side under Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann, seeing a loan as a good opportunity to play more regularly.

The entire deal was thought to be finalised in just 12 hours, with the Austria international flown by private jet before completing his medical checks.

The 28-year-old, who has made 443 career club appearances across Europe during spells at Rapid Wien, RB Leipzig and Bayern, believes he made the right decision.

"Sometimes in life you have to make quick and important decisions," he told the club's official website.

"From the moment I heard about this opportunity I knew it was right for me. I am a competitive player; I want to win and help the club achieve its aims this season."

Sabitzer inspired by Gerrard

Sabitzer has previously named his footballing inspirations which include Brazilians Giovane Elber and Ze Robert.

But he was also a huge admirer of former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard, saying that "his mentality was fascinating", and that he wanted to "play the same way".

“He was a more defensive player than me but his mentality was fascinating to me,” Sabitzer said of Gerrard in an interview in 2020.

“He always led the line and carried his team. I looked at that and took it all in. I wanted to play the same way.”

According to The Telegraph's Jason Burt, Sabitzer could join the club on a permanent basis, with United holding an option to buy the player in the summer.

Topics: Manchester United, Steven Gerrard, Bayern Munich, Premier League, Bundesliga, Football, Transfers

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno