Ten Hag handed transfer dilemma over Man Utd star involved in training fight

23 October 2023 , 19:09

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Ten Hag handed transfer dilemma over Man Utd star involved in training fight

Sevilla are monitoring the future of Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri – who has been in Erik ten Hag’s first-team squad this campaign.

Hannibal spent last season in the Championship at Birmingham, where he netted once across 41 appearances – of which 23 were from the start. Now aged 20, he is in high demand but has remained at United, who have resisted offers of a permanent sale.

Borussia Dortmund had been eyeing a deal for the midfielder in the summer and Besiktas offered a loan deal with an option to buy the player which was knocked back by the Red Devils. Ten Hag was adamant that the midfielder was part of his first-team plans.

This was despite Sofyan Amrabat's arrival at Old Trafford followed the arrival of Mason Mount from Chelsea, while Scott McTominay remained at the club despite a £30million transfer offer from West Ham – the Scotland international has bagged three goals in his last two appearances for United.

Hannibal has started three matches for the Red Devils this season; against Burnley, in the EFL Cup win over Crystal Palace and Champions League loss to Galatasaray while he also bagged his first goal for the club after coming on as a substitute in the league defeat to Brighton.

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Spanish side Sevilla are monitoring the future of Hannibal, according to reports, with the Tunisian out of contract at Old Trafford next summer. However, United do hold an option to extend his deal automatically by a further year – which they are likely to exercise – and a new contract could be on the table as they tie him down to a long-term agreement.

Have Your Say! Should Man Utd offer a new contract to Hannibal? Tell us what you think here.

Hannibal has been integrated into United's squad this term (Ricardo Larreina/Europa Press via Getty Images)

Hannibal and Alex Telles – who joined Al-Nassr this summer – were involved in a training ground bust-up in May last year, just before United boss Ten Hag assumed the Old Trafford hot-seat. The in-house fall-out came in the aftermath of United's humiliating 4-0 defeat away at Brighton at the tail-end of last term when morale was at its lowest under then interim boss Ralf Rangnick.

Hannibal has been capped 27 times for the Tunisian senior side at international level. He joined United from Monaco in 2019 having been tracked by the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. Still aged just 20, he appears to have a bright future at the top level.

Colin Millar