The clubs who should be looking to sign Marcel Sabitzer

You don't need to be a footballing genius to know that top quality players are hard to come by, so when one becomes available for as little as £17m any club would be mad not to throw their name into the hat.

Marcel Sabitzer has been churning out impressive performances in the Bundesliga and in Europe for a number of seasons with RB Leipzig. Such has been the level of his displays in recent years, a whole host of sides have already tried to tempt the German club into parting ways with their captain, though their steep asking price has proved just too lofty for any deal to materialise.

With just one year remaining on his current deal, reports have recently surfaced suggesting Leipzig are ready to cash in on their prized asset - with a price tag of just £17m placed on Sabitzer as the club looks to avoid the risk of losing him on a free next summer.

This one genuinely could turn into one of the most fiercely contested battles for a player's signature in recent times, and 90min has taken a look at which clubs should be desperately trying to sign him...

1. Arsenal

You'd struggle to name a single decent player in world football who Arsenal shouldn't be trying to sign right now.

There aren't many areas of Mikel Arteta's squad that you could confidently say don't need strengthening this summer if they're to challenge at the top end of the Premier League once again, but adding midfield creativity is an absolute must.

Arteta's pursuit of Emi Buendia earlier this summer shows he's clearly aware he can't keep relying on youngster Emile Smith Rowe to carry the creative burden, and Sabitzer would be a brilliant addition to their squad.

2. Roma

Jose Mourinho is a long-time admirer of Sabitzer having courted the Austrian during his time as Tottenham boss, so don't be at all surprised to see the Portuguese tactician reignite his interest at Roma.

Paulo Fonseca played some decent football during his time as Roma manager, though the truth is they didn't score anywhere near enough goals to achieve their season aim of Champions League qualification.

Sabitzer would add both goals and assists to the midfield and he'd undoubtedly help them achieve their goal of a top-four finish.

3. Tottenham

*Copy and paste from the Arsenal section above*

Well, maybe Tottenham aren't suffering quite as badly as their north London rivals at the moment, but they're certainly not far off.

Since Dele Alli's dip in form, one of the big reasons behind Spurs' slide down the Premier League table has been their lack of goals and creativity from midfield.

The likes of Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso can both look really impressive at times, yet neither ever look like threatening to hit double figures for the season.

With the future of Harry Kane up in the air, Spurs need to start looking to get goals from other areas of the pitch and Sabitzer would provide them with just that.

4. Inter

Inter did superbly to notch their first Serie A title since 2010 last season, but if they want to retain their crown as well as challenge for European honours then summer reinforcements will be necessary,

The signing of Hakan Calhanoglu from rivals Milan is a great piece of business, but with the future of Christian Eriksen far from clear following his awful health scare at Euro 2020, Inter need to plan ahead.

It may seem weird to suggest the sale of a right-back will massively impact a team's attacking output, but the departure of Achraf Hakimi will be a huge loss and Sabitzer's quality in the final third could help soften the blow.

5. Everton

You may scoff at the inclusion of Everton on this list, but with the money they've thrown around over the last couple of seasons and the pull of Rafael Benitez, it really isn't out of the question.

There's not much more to say about the Toffees other than they need better players and Sabitzer is better than what they've currently got - simple as that really.

6. Borussia Dortmund

The imminent departure of Jadon Sancho to Manchester United has not only left Borussia Dortmund with a much healthier bank balance, it's also taken away a load of goals and assists from their side.

Sabitzer may not quite have been clocking the eye-watering figures Sancho has over the past three seasons, but he'd be a solid replacement for the England international and he'd also leave Dortmund with plenty of money to improve the squad in other areas.

7. Liverpool

Many have speculated over whether Jurgen Klopp will look to replace Georginio Wijnaldum this summer or if he'll offer one of his existing squad members a chance to prove themselves.

Given the injury record of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and the underwhelming Premier League form of Naby Keita, Klopp will probably want a new face through the door this summer - and Sabitzer could provide a nice balance in midfield alongside the more defensively minded Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.

8. Milan

With the aforementioned Hakan Calhanoglu doing the dirty and swapping Milan for Inter, Stefano Pioli will be in the market for a new addition to his midfield arsenal.

Squad depth played a part in Milan's poor second half to the 2020/21 Serie A season, having looked on track to win an unlikely Scudetto. If they're to maintain a title challenge next season while juggling Champions League commitments, they'll need to improve their squad rather than weaken it.