Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri sealed his loan move to Birmingham City.
United announced the season long deal, the first loan switch of Hannibal’s career so far.
The move is a valuable opportunity for the midfielder to play first team football. He has three substitute appearances for Manchester United’s first team so far but no starts.
Even in pre-season he was restricted to appearances from the bench.
READ MORE: Confirmed Manchester United transfers, ins, outs, loans, releases for 2022/23
Maxi Lopez welcomes Hannibal
Birmingham City are 21st in the Championship after six games, with one win, two draws, and three defeats.
They are in the midst of a takeover involving a big name, former Argentina youth international striker Maxi Lopez, who played for Barcelona, River Plate and AC Milan among others before retiring in 2021.
Lopez personally welcomed Hannibal to Birmingham, commenting to say he is ‘delighted’ the deal got done.
He beat another former Barcelona player to Hannibal’s signature. L’Equipe last week reported that FC Andorra, owned by Gerard Pique, were keen to bring him to the Ligue 2 club.
A deal with Birmingham City was already under discussion at this stage, and it is better for United to get Hannibal acclimatised to English football.
A loan move is important to him ahead of the World Cup. He already has 16 international caps for Tunisia and needs to increase his exposure to competitive football at club level.
He follows Tahith Chong and Teden Mengi who were both loaned out to Birmingham City last season. Hannibal referenced this in his interview.
He told Birmingham’s club website: “I have heard a lot of good things from my friends who have played here before, so I am ready to come and play for this club.”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
