Manchester United completed their whirlwind swoop for Marcel Sabitzer within 11 chaotic hours on January deadline day and - inside an equally frantic 90 minutes on Thursday night - the Austrian dropped the biggest hint yet he could be perfect to solve two lingering concerns.
It was only when Andy Carroll thundered into a reckless challenge on Christian Eriksen during the FA Cup tie with Reading that United were forced into the market. Sabitzer was earmarked, pursued and signed within a blink of the eye as Erik ten Hag once again underlined his squad-building savvy.
From that point on, the blueprint was simple; to team Sabitzer with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes as United continued their charge, at that juncture, on four fronts. However, due to injury setbacks and Casemiro seeing red not once but twice, they had to wait 10 weeks for that opportunity.
