Hannibal Mejbri transfer dilemma and Ten Hag requirement for Man Utd future
"It was on Sky!" Hannibal Mejbri says with a not-so-subtle nod to the camera and click of his fingers in a message to Erik ten Hag.
Spending the season loan with Championship side Birmingham City, the 20-year-old Manchester United prospect scored his first senior goal in style as the Blues beat Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion under the Friday night lights at St Andrew's. Spotting West Brom goalkeeper David Button far off his line at a long-range free-kick, Hannibal whipped a speculative effort from 35 yards and fired the ball into the bottom corner to give Birmingham the lead inside 10 minutes.
Just seven minutes in the second half, the fully-fledged Tunisia international delivered a pinpoint corner onto the head of team-mate and midfield partner Krystian Bielik, who duly nodded in the host's second goal on a memorable evening. Claiming the Man of the Match award, Hannibal - with some help from the interviewer - made sure that United boss Ten Hag got word of his Friday night feats.
"Am I expecting a text from him? I just need to focus and stay focused… I'm sure he has Sky," the attack-minded playmaker mused. "But I just need to focus until the end of the season and we will see what happens in the summer."
When the chuckling Bielik handed him the Man of the Match trophy, a delighted Hannibal beamed: "Thank you! Nice trophy, thank you very much. And it was on Sky!"
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While preparing for United's trip to Leeds on Sunday, Ten Hag was likely watching the game or will've at least caught up on his loanee's superb performance on Saturday morning. After breaking through as a flexible forward under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2021, before being afforded a number of opportunities by Ralf Rangnick last term, Ten Hag took Hannibal on the Red Devils' pre-season tour over the summer and was impressed.
"Hannibal Mejbri, he played some minutes and I think he did quite well, in training as well," the United manager revealed, having given the versatile Tunisian a role as a false nine. "He made quite a good impression."
Sent out on loan at the beginning of the campaign in order to gain regular first-team experience in a demanding league like the Championship, Hannibal may have taken a while to hit the back of the net but earned plaudits in a struggling Birmingham side much sooner. Quickly becoming a key player for boss John Eustace, the Birmingham gaffer waxed lyrical about the Paris-born starlet when Hannibal had just returned from representing his parents' country at the World Cup in December.
"He is a cracking young player, we are very fortunate to have him here," Eustace affirmed. "The most pleasing thing is that work rate. He has come from Manchester United with a big reputation. But to earn the right to play, earn the right to do anything, you have to work hard.
"To play in this team as well, you need a team of workers. He has come in, he has shown he is very hungry, he has got that desire to work hard, the effort is there. He is doing very well."
Hannibal Mejbri is receiving rave reviews at St Andrew's (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)Ten Hag will've been delighted to hear the his opposite number's comments, particularly as hard work on and off the ball is a key requirement to playing in any of his teams. Eustace would love to have Hannibal permanently, but the up-and-coming coach admits that he might be out of Birmingham's price range.
"Have you got about £20 million? Then we might be able to," Eustace joked after the victory over West Brom, which put the Blues 10 points clear of the relegation zone. "He was fantastic, his energy, all-round performance was a different class. A 20-year-old boy, first loan you are going to get dips in form, tired legs, which I think we have seen this season.
"But tonight he was back at his best. He came on at half time last week, was instrumental in us turning the game around. It’s all part of having a first time loan player, you take with the highs and the lows but tonight he was unplayable.
"Maybe the World Cup took something out of him but let’s get something right, he only played one competitive game last season and we have asked him to play week in week out. You are going to get the dips and inconsistency but we are very fortunate he is on it at the moment."
Hannibal Mejbri's first senior goal was a superbly through of free-kick against rivals West Brom (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)So, Ten Hag will be the one managing him next season, right? Not necessarily. When United paid Monaco an initial £4.4m for his signature in 2018 - when Hannibal was just 16 years old - big things were expected of him at Old Trafford.
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But, according to The Sun, Red Devils chiefs believe that he hasn't lifted up to hype or his transfer fee. It's added that French giants Marseille are eyeing a move for Hannibal, with the interest putting his future beyond this term into jeopardy.
He was infamously involved in a training ground bust-up with United defender Alex Telles towards the end of last season, a demonstration of his fiery nature. Alongside a pre-season scrap with Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, Hannibal's tackle-laden cameo against Liverpool in April furthered his reputation for being a trouble-maker on the pitch, which Ten Hag might not view favourably in such a happy camp at present.
Hannibal Mejbri has gained a reputation for provoking opponents (Paul Kane/Getty Images)
His cameo against Liverpool last season saw him clash with Andy Robertson (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)Have your say! Should Hannibal be in the Man Utd first-team next season? Let us know in the comments section.
Hannibal certainly wants to make a success of his time in Manchester, knowing what potential he has. "I said to myself, 'Oh yeah, I need to work hard!'" he told Pro-Direct Soccer France in August, shortly before his loan to Birmingham was arranged. "I didn't come here for nothing, not to have on my CV: 'I played for United'. I came to prove to the world that a young person from Paris, from the neighbourhood, can come and impose himself. And me... I'm ready to risk everything to succeed at United."
His work at Birmingham is doing him no harm.
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