"Underwhelming" - Leeds United urged to swerve Man Utd deal for Hannibal Mejbri | OneFootball

FLW's Leeds United fan pundit has given his verdict on reports linking the club to Hannibal Mejbri

Leeds United are in the race to sign Hannibal Mejbri from Manchester United this summer.

According to the Manchester Evening News, the Whites are looking to bolster their midfield options with a pursuit of the Tunisia international.

However, they face competition from promotion rivals Burnley in the race for the youngster’s signature.

Hannibal has struggled for game time with Man United, and spent the second half of the previous campaign on loan with Spanish club Sevilla.

The 21-year-old has a contract with the Premier League side until the summer of 2025, meaning their preference will likely be for a permanent exit.

Leeds United Hannibal transfer verdict

FLW’s Leeds fan pundit Kris Smith has claimed he would be underwhelmed by the signing of Hannibal ahead of next week’s transfer deadline.

While he believes that the midfielder can add something to the squad, he suggested that the player’s lack of creativity means he wouldn’t solve their most pressing need in that area of the pitch.

“From what it looks like Leeds’ weaknesses are in midfield, in breaking teams down, Hannibal definitely wouldn’t be the profile that Leeds should be signing, or I’d expect Leeds to sign,” Smith told Football League World.

“As much as I think he would be able to do a reasonable job in the Championship for us, when you look at Hannibal he’s a very combative midfielder, gets stuck in a lot all over the pitch.

“And that is encouraging, that will definitely impress a lot of Leeds fans.

“But, from what I’ve seen at Man United, Sevilla and Birmingham on loan, there’s very little in terms of a creative presence there and final third end product that we are desperately needing from our midfield, especially after last season where Ilia Gruev was our only goal-scorer from our midfield.

“I think he would make our midfield, and overall possession structure a lot stronger, given that he’d play alongside Ethan Ampadu and we’d be very tough to break down, and very physical to play against.

“But, beyond that, I don’t really know if he’s the sort of player for us.

“I wouldn’t complain if he was the player to complete our midfield set-up given what I’ve just mentioned about how aggressive he is in the tackle, how complementary he’d be defensively alongside Ampadu.

“And there are bits about his game to like in terms of how he carries the ball, and how he’s fairly press-resistant.

“Other than that, it would be quite underwhelming knowing that we need a midfielder that can add goals and assists, and I just don’t think he’d be able to do that for us.”

Leeds United’s 2024 summer transfer activity

Leeds have endured a difficult summer transfer window, losing key players like Archie Gray, Glen Kamara, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter.

Joe Rothwell has arrived on loan from Bournemouth, but the team is still lacking in midfield numbers compared to last year.

The club have until 30 August to finalise any remaining deals before the window shuts.

Up next for Daniel Farke’s side will be an away trip to face Sheffield Wednesday on Friday evening in an 8pm kick-off.

Hannibal signing can’t be Leeds’ only signing

Bringing Hannibal into the team would be a positive step forward for Farke’s squad.

He is a strong midfield option at a Championship level, bringing technical quality and a hard work rate off the ball, which would make him a good fit for Leeds.

However, the team still needs more than that if they are to maintain the competitive edge they had on their rivals last season.

The pressure is on Leeds after their two draws in their opening two games, and this being their only signing would be quite underwhelming for supporters, if they can even get it over the line.