According to Manchester Evening News, Hannibal Mejbri is set to get regular first-team chances at Manchester United. Mejbri was playing with Tunisia in the AFCON but will return to England as Tunisia faced an exit from the tournament. Ralf Rangnick is ready to reward Mejbri with more opportunities in the first-team training.
He appeared twice in the squad for Tunisia in AFCON. However, he was unlucky to face defeat in both matches. He has only made one competitive appearance for United’s first team in the last match of the last season against Wolves. United were successful to win that game 2-1, thanks to their youth academy players who started the match.
Rangnick has mentioned before that United has had a rich history of developing talent from the academy. He wants to maintain that tradition and remains committed to improving the academy players. Many have monitored Mejbri’s progress and the youngster looks promising to shine at a higher stage.
The United youngster reportedly had the option of taking a break between the Arab Cup and the AFCON. However, he preferred to return to Manchester to practice with the first team and impress his manager. This dedication can help him get more game time in the top flight for United. He will continue to play for U-23s but will get some opportunities to play with the senior team.
Why Hannibal Mejbri training with first team is a positive for United?
Manchester United did not make any signings in the January transfer window. However, they have lost one highly regarded youngster Mason Greenwood due to allegations of violence he has faced. Rangnick knows that Mejbri is a talented youngster and has seen him play in the Arab Cup. Mejbri was unavailable for United for a long time due to his international duties but Rangnick will now look forward to meeting the youngster.
Hannibal Mejbri aspires to be a player like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldhino, and Andres Iniesta. He can get away from defenders very easily and is comfortable in link-up plays. Defenders sometimes have to foul him in order to stop him. His game awareness suggests that his intelligence is way ahead of his peers.
United currently needs a fresh face in the midfield to support their attack. Fred and McTominay do provide the energy and defensive cover. However, United are failing to supply to their forward line under Rangnick. That has to be corrected as soon as possible since the defensive record seems a bit better under Rangnick than it was under Solskjaer.
Hannibal Mejbri did show his quality in the limited minutes he got against Wolves last season. He also has a fighting mentality which sometimes may lead him into getting booked. However, that shows his desire to work and succeed. He will not let down this opportunity so easily and will grab it with both of his hands. He was also the best player on the pitch for Tunisia before getting hooked at half-time against Mali.
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