Manchester United dressing room transformation has been summed up by their latest signing

Rewind 12 months and it’s hard to imagine anyone close to Ralf Rangnick describing the mood around Manchester United as “fun”.

But that is exactly the adjective Marcel Sabitzer used to describe his first 12 days at the club as he stood in the corridors of Elland Road, fresh from the ultimate introduction to the frenetic nature of the Premier League.

Sabitzer shone for RB Leipzig under Rangnick, who in 2020 praised the development of the midfielder and his “remarkable” transformation into a leader. But Sabitzer has had the good fortune to arrive at United a year after his former coach.

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This club was on the floor last season and the path back to competitiveness looked to be a long and winding one. That is until Erik ten Hag walked in and set about reshaping the club.

A dressing room that was fractured a year ago is now tight. Results help with that, but they aren’t a silver bullet. It’s about signing the right characters, getting the balance just right.

Ten Hag has done that. His summer signings played a part and although the kitty would only stretch to loan signings in January, the character assessments of Wout Weghorst and Sabitzer suggested they would add to a changing mentality within this squad.

Sabitzer has been in the dressing room for less than two weeks but said he could sense the spirit and togetherness in the group as soon as he made the introductions.

“You can feel it, from the first moment on I felt very good in the team, good spirit, good goals in the head, we’re a good team. It’s fun,” he said.

That spirit of unity was badly needed at Elland Road. It wasn’t a great United performance, but they found a way to weather the onslaught and then steal the