Everton given 30% chance of signing Hannibal Mejbri on loan as previous Manchester United loan leaves bad impression
Everton have been given a 30% chance of signing Manchester United ace Hannibal Mejbri on loan after a previous loan deal left a bad taste in the mouth of the Reds.
Writing on the Relevo website (11 January), the Spanish news outlet reports that the player is closer to joining Sevilla on loan but the Reds would prefer he went to Goodison Park due to how Anthony Martial’s loan went in 2022.
In fact it’s believed that Hannibal has “given his word” to Victor Orta about a transfer, although Everton continue to push to convince him to stay in the Premier League.
“The Andalusians are now focusing on the arrival of Hannibal Mejbri, an old wish of Orta,” they wrote.
“The greatest difficulty in carrying out the operation lay in Manchester United’s desire for their player to stay in the Premier League. What’s more, it is the Red Devils who offered the player to Everton days ago so that he could go there where he would have the minutes that he has not been able to have at Old Trafford.
“The bad experience that the British team had with the loan of Anthony Martial generated some skepticism when it came to giving approval to the operation from the beginning and that is why the midfielder was offered another alternative that would meet his demands.
“According to negotiation sources, in this small battle to acquire the Franco-Tunisian, Sevilla would be 70% and Everton 30% of achieving their goal.”
Shame
It’s a shame that the Toffees look set to miss out on this transfer, because Hannibal would have been an excellent addition to a squad that is light on numbers.
He is capable of playing on the wing, as a number ten or as a number eight and with lots of different options that would mean he would earn a lot of game time.
But Sevilla can offer European football and if they are going to promise him regular game time too, then it’s no surprise that he would be keen on pushing through a move there instead.
Manchester United are keen to see him stay in the Premier League which obviously gives the club a chance to stay in the race and convince the player, but it’s obviously not going to be easy to do.
It seems that a deal is becoming more and more unlikely, but if the club are active during the transfer window it will be good to see if there are any alternatives on the agenda.
In other Everton news, Fabrizio Romano shares transfer update with decision expected “soon”.