Manchester United must set a clear direction for Hannibal Mejbri and cannot sell him for a six-figure fee like with Zidane Iqbal.
This week The Athletic ɾєρօɾτed Manchester United will sellZidane Iqbalto FC Utrecht for £860,000.
Iqbal, 20, had two years left on his contract plus an option of a third, and is a full Iraq international.
It leads us to question what the future holds for another 20-year-old midfielder on Manchester United’s books,Hannibal Mejbri, a full Tunisia international, whose contract length matches Iqbal’s.
Hannibal Mejbri future must have direction
Hannibal Mejbri, like Iqbal, has briefly appeared for Manchester United’s first team. But neither have played a minute in competitive games under Erik ten Hag.
This week United decided to cash in on Iqbal. While a low fee, Manchester United still stand to make a profit on the academy talent.
The situation with Hannibal Mejbri is quite different. Selling him for a minor fee would be an even worse look.
Manchester United paid £9.3 million to sign Mejbri,The Timesɾєρօɾτed.
While it was an investment the club felt worth making, United cannot discard him so easily like we have just seen with Iqbal.
There needs to be a clear ρłɑɴ in place, to help Hannibal either (a) reach first team level, or (b) reach a high re-sale figure.
Last summer Manchester City netted a combined £45.5 million from the sales for Gavin Bazunu, Pedro Porro, Romeo Lavia, Darko Gyabi, and Ko Itakura, none of who had made any first team advances.
The Mailɾєρօɾτed in April that Manchester United would consider a sale for Hannibal, among other players. But with the way United are run, it is hard to see the club getting any kind of fee which is not a heavy loss on the money paid for him.
So far for the £9.3 million spent on Hannibal, there has been a return of just three appearances totalling 76 minutes.
Loan a springboard for uncertain future
Last season Hannibal was loaned out to Birmingham City. It was a tough gig, playing for a side who finished 17th, and never looked like even challenging for the top 10, let alone the play-offs.
Hannibal did learn a lot, playing a total of 41 games in all competitions, accruing more than 2,100 minutes of playing time.
He scored once and provided five assists, picking up 11 bookings but avoiding any sєɴԀing off; impressive considering his temperament has been as eye-catching as his range of passing.
What is unclear, still, is the quite simple conundrum of whether Hannibal is good enough for Manchester United?
But what we do believe, is that with control of Hannibal’s contract for another three years, this looks like the wrong time to give up on the club’s £9.3 million investment, unless a big offer comes in.
The MENɾєρօɾτs Borussia Dortmund are interested in the midfielder and could offer Manchester United around £10 million, a chance for the club to recoup the spєɴԀ.
But when a club like Dortmund come knocking, it can ask whether United are wrong to give up on him this early.
The Athleticɾєρօɾτ that the ρłɑɴs for Hannibal remain unclear and are likely to be shaped by his pre-season performances, on the pitch and in training.
The ɾєρօɾτ states: “Hannibal is deemed to be too talented a player to be sitting on the bench, so another loan move would make sense.”
If United remain invested in Hannibal, and don’t wish to simply write off the fee paid for him, the club need to put him in a better position to succeed.
This would either be a strong Championship side, or a top flight loan abroad, to a team in France, Netherlands or Portugal, even Italy.
A strong 2023/24 will allow United to promote him to the first team the year after, or cash in for close to the fee paid for him.
And if he doesn’t perform well enough, then there is little United can do. But a ρłɑɴ needs to be made. Hannibal has 24 international caps at the age of 20, and there is a player there. He is not the sort of talent the club should easily give up on.
If the big fee paid for him does one thing, it will cause the club to think carefully about writing him off, and not cashing in for a bargain-basement sum like with Zidane Iqbal.
