Out of squad: Sevilla issue brutal statement on Hannibal Mejbri
Manchester United’s loaned-out starlet has found himself out of favour already REUTERS/Phil Noble
This transfer window is shaping up to be a quiet one for Manchester United, especially when it comes to fresh arrivals. This was always expected to be the case due to the club’s finances, regardless of how gaping the holes in the squad may appear.
The INEOS ownership update did inject some hope of a spending-based window though, especially given how fresh injuries have painted the Old Trafford outfit into a tight spot.
However, the club has not shied away from making one crucial and routine move that big clubs make in transfer windows: loaning their promising starlets in order to further their development. In that regard, however, the loan spell of one academy product has already gotten off to a bumpy start.
Manchester United loanee out of Sevilla’s matchday squad
Hannibal Mejbri’s loan move to Sevilla earlier in the window was met with bittersweet reactions from supporters who were looking to see more of the exciting youngster. Further still, rumours of a buy-clause in the La Liga club’s loan terms likewise spelt poorly of the prospect of Hannibal returning to the Theatre of Dreams.
However, a rather odd incident may just change that. It is understood that Mejbri will not be available for selection with Sevilla for the foreseeable future.
“After being with him, talking to him and having seen his first minutes in Girona, we are going to give him the necessary space to understand where he is, that he is at Sevilla and what it means,” manager Quique Sanchez Flores said (via Manchester Evening News).
“He has to know where he is and we want to see him. We have spoken with him and we believe that he has to have some time to learn, we wanted to give him space, time for him to see things from the outside and then he will return to the squad.”
The fact the 21-year-old isn’t considered ready to handle the demands of playing for a struggling Sevilla side which sit 17th in the La Liga table is certainly a worrying early loan report for both the player and his parent club, United.