Pre-season has presented a good opportunity for Manchester United’s young players to get valuable minutes to further their development.
Even in the loss to Liverpool, United gave minutes to young players. Harry Amass, Toby Collyer, Rhys Bennett, Will Fish, Ethan Wheatley, Sam Murray, Maxi Oyedele, Sam Mather and James Scanlon each saw action, despite not having a single Premier League start between them.
One player who did not get a single minute was Hannibal Mejbri.
He has since been back to a substitute role more reflective of his position in the squad, coming off the bench against Rangers, Arsenal and Real Betis.
While he was a little improved against Rangers, his performances in the USA offered little. It seems like Erik ten Hag has seen enough.
Ten Hag did not call on Hannibal at all against Liverpool, despite making multiple substitutions. He was more intrigued by what some of the younger members of the tour squad could contribute.
Across his four games played, Hannibal has more yellow cards (one) than chances created (none).
It’s a statistic which highlights where he has gone backwards. When Hannibal first played in United’s academy after his move from Monaco, his creativity and range of passing really stood out.
But more recently, Hannibal has become more known for his scrappy qualities, sacrificing on-ball influence for a more combative nature.
He’s not what the team need right now, and we may have seen the last of him in a Manchester United shirt.
Hannibal heading to exit
With first team players like Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee all back at Carrington, tough decisions will have to be made when it comes to the matchday squads for the Community Shield and opening Premier League game of the season.
Hannibal may not even make the bench, and even if he did, he would only be there to make up the numbers.
The 21-year-old has just one year remaining on his contract. It’s now or never when it comes to cashing in.
Scottish side Rangers have been linked with a move for Hannibal, Fabrizio Romano told Caught Offside there is ‘genuine interest’ from the Scottish side.
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