He cost us £4.5m with another £4.5m in bonuses which are probably to do with how many times he appears in out first team.
Hannibal Mejbri (Out)
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No first refusal, has to be a set buy back that benefits us even if just to ‘buy’ him back & sell onto his club post Dortmund.
I wouldn't even say the story has been planted but rather the reporting has been vague and from not the most reliable sources.
Only if the youngsters are good enough. Garnacho got chances because he was good enough. A young player has to earn his minutes, no exception.
Sell with a buy back clause or first refusal. He's 20, young still, but hasn't breakthrough the first team. He had an average season in the championship nothing to be excited about so 15M is a good price.
He's got to be at the club to be able to earn them though
And for every player who "makes it" very young, there's at least two players who will not be ready until 22-24.
It makes sense if it's felt that Hannibal is unlikely to reach the level that we need, but that there's still a high enough chance of it that we don't want to completely wash our hands of him. Take the guaranteed money for him now, but just have that bit of protection that we can take him back for a decent price if he does make it big.
In hindsight, it's exactly what we should have done with Tuanzebe and Gomes for example. Instead we ultimately just lost them for nothing.
Personally I have high hopes for Hannibal and would ideally prefer to keep him, but the sell with a buy-back clause is probably the best option if ETH and the club do think he's at the level that I talked about above.
We paid 8m for him plus all the fees and agent fees etc. Surely can't let him go for 15
What we paid for has very little do with what his value is now.
He looked good in the youth teams but I've never been convinced by Hannibal at senior level. If we can get a reasonable fee with an incentivised sell-on (and maybe buyback) then I'd say do the deal.
I've seen nothing that suggests he's a Man Utd player. Or a future Man Utd player, more to the point. I don't think being loaned to Birmingham helped all that much as a choice of destination, but still, there is nothing particularly standing out about him for me. I'd try and squeeze a bit more out of it based on the fact he does have a good reputation as a youth player, but I've no problem with the idea of selling him.
I disagree, selling him for 15 million when we don't rate him and covering our arses on the off chance he comes good with a 30 million buy back (we're not the all seeing eye after all, development is not always linear) would be good business.
It would probably be Dortmund that wouldn't be keen on that deal which tells it's own story. They wouldn't want to invest in the development of a player, make him a key starter and then receive a paltry 30 mill which is well below what they sell players of that profile for. Whereas we'd be paying 15 million for Dortmund's services and coaching that they put into this player which would entail probably 2-3 seasons worth where he's not the player he ends up, then we swoop in and nick him.
You could say just constantly loan him out but that's a hard sell for the player when a club like Dortmund comes in for him and he knows they have a track record. It's not good to just hold young players hostage if you don't really believe in them. His development would also likely be better under better coaches and knowing where he will be playing rather than doing the rounds on loan to random clubs.
So I think sometimes you have to see the long game. City did exactly the same with Lavia.
I genuinely don't remember any of those cases. Who would you say is one of those cases for us?
Maguire was playing in the Championship when he was 23, it was only later that he turned into a €90m defender.
€15m is an insult really, it's at least €30m to buy anyone these days.
Genuinely thought he was gonna kill it for us, most likely he did too
People talk about developping youth but Mejbri is « already » 20 yo, ie older than Bellingham, Saka. And Bellingham played for Birmingham, the same Birmingham that apparently hindered Mejbri’s development.
He’s still a very young pro, and seems very talented, but at 20 you should already see the signs of a senior player.
Do we have the time to leave him another 1-2 years to develop? I’d say yes
However seeing how quick the Caf is to call young players trash and talented at the same time (cf Pellistri and Amad), I’m not so sure
He’s still a very young pro, and seems very talented, but at 20 you should already see the signs of a senior player.
Do we have the time to leave him another 1-2 years to develop? I’d say yes
However seeing how quick the Caf is to call young players trash and talented at the same time (cf Pellistri and Amad), I’m not so sure
Yes! He’s a brilliant prospect. I suppose he’s not ready but I don’t think he’s all that far away. I will truly despair if we sell this kid.
Same club but a couple of years apart under different managers and vastly different playing philosophies. Due to Hannibal and to some extent Chong I watched a few Birmingham games last year when they were on ESPN and it was just awful route one stuff, no attempt to get the ball down and play and bypassing the midfield entirely.
I am not saying Hannibal is a nailed on future star but he was head and shoulders above the rest in his age group before last season and it would be a bit knee jerk to give up on him because of a poorly judged loan. If we can place him with a decent footballing side he could make the leap forward this year and either secure a role in our team or increase his value should we decide to sell. If it does not work out he is still highly rated enough that there will be takers next year.
In general. There are so many players at the top of the game who weren’t necessarily going to get there when they were 19/20/21. Fortunately there are a lot of good coaches and Directors of Football who see that there is often a lot of potential to develop even when you’re 22 or 23.
Come on
. A better example than one of our worst 5 transfers ever?So nobody? Of course I mean the level we should be aiming which is PL / CL winners.
Come on
Fred was rated as low as €8m on Transfermarkt when he was 24. Later he turned into a €60m player.
I actually agree with you, but some others posts made it look like we were selling a guaranteed future Ballon d’Or so my point was that if he was this talented, he would’ve shone no matter the philosophy of the coach.
I’ve actually watched some Birmingham games and it was painful. In my view Mejbri could be a useful United player but not until a couple of years.
Fred, sometimes maybe good sometimes maybe shite.
We definitely overpaid there but I could give you that. He's a useful squad player after all.
Anyway Fred at 19 was a first teamer in Serie A Brasil probably similar to a higher level than the championship.
I have mixed feelings when it comes to Hannibal. When he first came it appeared we had captured one of the most promising young players in Europe, and this was separate from the hype. He exhibited a varied passing range, could travel with the ball and seemed calm on the ball and hungry for it. At times he made it look easy.
He also had a flip side to his game that showed his passion and tenacity with a willingness to get stuck in. Maybe my expectations where to high but he seemed to have the potential to be a complete midfielder. However in the last year and a half maybe I feel he has found difficulties in displaying the more creative aspects of his game for a variety of reasons.
In no way am I saying he won’t still develop but I’m fearing he may stagnate when he could be progressing. There are squad places open to young players next season I believe and he may get a chance pre season. If he fails to grab it then a change in environment may help. 100 per cent buy back clause and first refusal as stated.
He also had a flip side to his game that showed his passion and tenacity with a willingness to get stuck in. Maybe my expectations where to high but he seemed to have the potential to be a complete midfielder. However in the last year and a half maybe I feel he has found difficulties in displaying the more creative aspects of his game for a variety of reasons.
In no way am I saying he won’t still develop but I’m fearing he may stagnate when he could be progressing. There are squad places open to young players next season I believe and he may get a chance pre season. If he fails to grab it then a change in environment may help. 100 per cent buy back clause and first refusal as stated.
Exactly - it was painful to watch Birmingham - so how exactly would he have shined in that team? It's was a team very poor in possession that tended to bypass the midfield in the way they played.
No one has made it look like we were selling a guaranteed Ballon d'Or winner - extreme hyperbole on your part there. That said, he is a very talented youngster who we paid a considerable amount for and has looked a cut above his teammates in the youth setup. If we actually sold him, I can see how and why people would be disappointed.
I liked the fact I could always tell when it was him on the ball, no matter how low quality my stream.
He'll be 21 in January. If the club doesn't feel that he is good enough to be in the squad next season, he should be sold. Otherwise, keep him and give him an opportunity to prove himself in our first team. Pretty simple.
Bellingham also won the Bundesliga player of the year and went to Real Madrid for 100m at 20. Maybe he's just a bit of a special case?
Completely agree with you, particularly the bolded part - he almost seems to have embraced the rough and tumble of the Championship - Birmingham especially - a bit too much rather than emphasise the more technical part of his game.
In the first few weeks he was delighting Brum fans with his typical glide through the midfield runs and dribbles, and then it all seemed to stop where he just seemed happy to get into a dog fight - he'd occasionally still pull out the odd piece of class from the bag, but as I said, only occasionally - it's almost like his natural tenacity, while a blessing, could actually have impeded him a bit.
Exactly, it’s weird to have a player switch in this manner, it’s normally the other way. I know players trajectories vary but this feels stark.
I’m definitely of the mind that your environment does influence you and we have a number of technical young players that would benefit from playing with similarly minded players. Ideally this would be with the first team but you take what you gets. But yeah at the time the Birmingham loan seemed positive but his struggles coincided with their own so maybe a better loan? Kinda feels like he needs that trust though, so hoping he shows pre season.
It really isn't.
If we keep him he is not a starter and probably the 3rd or 4th option off the bench right now so will get very few minutes and as he demonstrated during the 21/22 season, he has outgrown the U23 team and gets no benefit playing there. This is a surefire way to stall his development and does neither Hannibal or the club any good. This is not to say that he is not good enough to be in the squad next season just a recognition that he will not really benefit from a squad role at this point.
It is not a binary choice of sell him or play him. Amad had a lousy experience on loan at Rangers but then found the right fit at Sunderland and tore it up last season, Garner had a terrible time with Watford and then blossomed at Forest. The right choice for Hannibal at this stage in his career is a loan to a side where he will get sufficient first team action and play in a side that actually wants to play progressive football and not hoofball.
Salah was 23 when Chelsea decided he was not going to be good enough and sold him to Roma for 15M Euros and I am sure there were plenty in their fanbase cheering that decision because he had not established himself yet. Pretty sure they would like a do over on that decision now.
Yeah, I’ve said before, I definitely don’t want him sold but another loan is probably the ticket. Either way, I want him with us for pre-season and, preferably, in and around the match day squad until the end of the transfer window and, if possible, getting a few minutes on the pitch.
I see no chance for him to get any minutes next season. He's not ready and we need ready player in midfield especially.
Another loan is OK but honestly if he's nothing special we might as well take 15-20m now. Depending on how much we are pressed to sell and get some cash.
Another loan is OK but honestly if he's nothing special we might as well take 15-20m now. Depending on how much we are pressed to sell and get some cash.
Bruno?
For me with players it’s judging their talent and then factoring how I feel they are fulfilling it.
So if I believe the player has good to world class potential but just not consistent, I’d prefer to keep them around as I believe the ‘ click’ or switch can happen relatively quickly, factors dependent. For good and lower I’d allow for slower progress thus loans and buy backs.
Thus the problem, where is he on the spectrum?
So if I believe the player has good to world class potential but just not consistent, I’d prefer to keep them around as I believe the ‘ click’ or switch can happen relatively quickly, factors dependent. For good and lower I’d allow for slower progress thus loans and buy backs.
Thus the problem, where is he on the spectrum?
Well, my point exactly.
There’s not point debating the potential sale of a 20yo who may or may not cut it at United and had an okay season on loan in the championship
Nah, it is simple. I am struggling to remember the last player who was not good enough to get significant first-team minutes at United at the age of 21 and later blossomed into an important player for us. There are sometimes decent players who blossom that late if the stars align, like Lingard and O'Shea. I guess it's possible that Mejbri would be a huge outlier in that regard (again, hypothetically, assuming that he is not deemed good enough to be in the squad next year), but color me skeptical.
And I hear you on Salah, but examples such as his are rare. We can't cling to every young player on our books until he is in his mid-20s because there is a 0.01% chance that he could be the next Salah. That's not good for us or for these players.
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