Winner advances to agreement in Everton and Sevilla battle to sign Man United dazzler Hannibal Mejbri – David Ornstein
Sevilla have won the race against Everton and are advancing to an agreement over the signing of Manchester United dazzler Hannibal Mejbri, according to David Ornstein.
The Athletic journalist reported on Wednesday (10 January) that the Spanish side are still moving towards a deal to sign the 20-year-old on loan from the Red Devils and their deal is favoured by both Manchester United and Mejbri.
Everton still remain keen on securing his services for the second half of the season ahead of the Spanish giants, but Sevilla lead the race for his signature currently.
Sevilla’s initial loan deal is likely to include an option to make the transfer permanent in the summer, however, such a clause is expected to be expensive and Manchester United would still have a buy-back clause to activate.
Missed out
It was always going to be tough for Everton to win this race, considering just how late they made their charge for Mejbri’s signature in comparison to Sevilla who have been working on the deal for weeks already.
The 20-year-old had almost already set his sights on making the switch to Spain this month and while the opportunity to play in the Premier League would have been enticing, it looks like it hasn’t been enough to sway his decision in the grand scheme of things.
While Mejbri would have been an excellent addition to Sean Dyche’s ranks for the second half of the campaign, central midfield is one of the few areas in which the Toffees have some sort of depth in their ranks and they should be able to cope without the United loanees services.
Hopefully, the money that would have been spent bringing him to Goodison Park will be invested elsewhere before the window slams shut. The Toffees can’t leave themselves short as they continue their fight against relegation this season.
Who knows, there could even be a late twist in this saga given how things have turned out so far in this transfer.
In other Everton news, one pundit has been left in a rage following a recent incident with the Toffees, labelling it a “laughing stock”