Hannibal Mejbri has revealed that he considered a recall to Manchester United in January – but not for too long.
Mejbri, 20, has been on loan with Birmingham City as part of his development and course to become a regular in United’s first team. He joined the Championship side in August on a season-long deal.
A talented youngster, Mejbri was reportedly courted by Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain before he signed for United in 2019 from Monaco for an inital €5million, which could potentially rise to €10m.
The Parisian has made 24 league appearances for Birmingham so far this season and has become a fully-fledged international player over recent years having already notched 20 senior caps for Tunisia, the country of his parents.
Following Christian Eriksen’s unexpected long-term injury revelation at the end of the January transfer window, United were urgently scrambling to subsidise Erik ten Hag’s midfield options.
Before Marcel Sabitzer was subsequently signed on a six-month loan deal from Bayern Munich, Hannibal had been linked with an early and immediate recall from his spell at St Andrews.
Discussing the situation with Birmingham Mail, he detailed:
“To be honest, I was focused on my season with Birmingham and kept working. I left the other things to people who are in charge of this.
“I said ‘maybe’, but, to be honest, I said ‘maybe’ for 30 seconds and after I kept working. If they [had wanted to] call me back I [would] see what is better for me, but I think playing is the most important for me.
“I am looking forward to the rest of the season now, hopefully I can keep going like this.”
Hannibal scored his first professional goal against West Bromwich Albion on Friday in a 2-0 victory, cleverly catching goalkeeper David Button out of position and quickly curling in a free kick from distance.
Speaking about this goal, Hannibal said:
“The goal was really nice. In the moment I didn’t think about the technique or anything, I just tried and it went in. It’s my first goal in my professional career, it’s a nice feeling and I want more feelings like this.”
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