Sabitzer: Man Utd need senior players to stand up

Former Manchester United loanee Marcel Sabitzer has snubbed a recent teammate this week.

The Austrian was asked about leaders at the club where he spent the second half of last season, given United's current malaise.

The Borussia Dortmund star, whose side welcome Newcastle United in the Champions League tonight, failed to mention Man United skipper Bruno Fernandes when talking about the Red Devils' leaders.

"I feel very positive about my time there and still talk to a couple of people," Sabitzer told The Athletic.

"You ask yourself, 'What's going on?' There's a lot of noise, results are not good, they've had defeats at home, which almost felt unthinkable last season. And there's still the unresolved situation of the ownership. You can see what that does to a team.

"I feel sorry for them because they're all good guys, and extremely hungry for success. Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez they are leaders that provide structure and stability to the team.

Erik ten Hag comes with up very specific match plans and patterns of play. But if you have too many important players missing and too many changes as a result, things get lost between the tactics board and the pitch. The rhythm of players coming isn't right, processes aren't right.

"In the Premier League and Champions League, you need your best players available. Everything feels a little labored and uncertain now. They need their big guys to show up and change the course of the season, but I believe things can change quickly once they get important players back."