As Erik ten Hag struggles to fill midfield slots in his decimated Manchester United side, it is easy to question why the club did not recall Hannibal Mejbri from his loan spell at Championship side Birmingham City.
In another man-of-the-match performance last night, Hannibal scored a goal and provided an assist for the Blues as they powered 2-0 past West Brom in a classic Birmingham derby.
The eye-catching performance was backed up by the Tunisian’s match stats, which included 17/21 passes completed and 2 big chances created.
Hannibal Mejbri vs West Brom:
44 touches
3 shots
1 goal
17/21 passes completed
2 big chances created
1 assist pic.twitter.com/tAbxi8hMqZ— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) February 10, 2023
Asked by Sky Sports after the match whether he thought Ten Hag would have been watching his performance, the 20 year old replied:
“I’m sure he has Sky! But I just need to focus until the end of the season and we will see in the summer.”
"Expecting a text from Erik ten Hag tonight, Hannibal?" 😅👀
"It was on Sky" 📺 pic.twitter.com/ybrOTJXKul
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 10, 2023
City’s manager, John Eustace, commented:
“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.”
Hannibal Mejbri Vs Westbrom
Man of the match 💫 pic.twitter.com/uCUJB7tKiy
— Tinka 🔴 (@UtdCode) February 11, 2023
The win takes the Blues to within a point of the Baggies and nine points clear of the relegation zone.
If Hannibal can add that consistency to his performances as Eustace notes, he could build a strong case for becoming Bruno Fernandes‘ understudy in the number 10 role for United next season.
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