Leeds United vying with Burnley to land Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri | OneFootball

Manchester United are getting closer to the signing of Manuel Ugarte as per recent reports and once the Uruguayan signs, there are bound to be departures.

Hannibal Mejbri is one player who looks like he is on his way out with multiple Championship teams and European teams all vying for his signature.

Burnley have been named as one of his potential suitors after both Rangers and Celtic were ruled out of the chase due to United’s demands.

The Clarets are looking at a loan deal but United want a permanent exit for the Tunisian who has only one year left in his current deal after the club triggered the extension at the end of last season.

Leeds interested in Hannibal

As per The Mirror, another team from the second division and fierce rivals Leeds United have also expressed their interest in landing the 21-year-old.

“Manchester United are clearing out some fringe players and Facundo Pellistri is joining Panathinaikos for £5.1 million, while Leeds and Burnley are keen on Tunisia midfielder Hannibal Mejbri,” journalist David Anderson wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

It remains to be seen if United sell to their rivals. While the move will not immediately endanger United due to Leeds’ troubles, should they bounce back to the top flight, the deal could backfire and fans would not be too pleased.

No fee has been mentioned but it does not seem likely that the Red Devils will come close to receiving the £17 million Sevilla would have had to pay should they have chosen to make the Tunisia international’s loan move permanent.

A disastrous spell which saw the player fall out with the manager and hardly get minutes under his belt meant he returned to Manchester for pre-season.

Upon his return, the academy graduate found he had fallen even further down the pecking order with Toby Collyer tipped to make his breakthrough under Erik ten Hag last season.

His future lies away from Old Trafford

Despite joining United as a potential superstar-in-the-making, Hannibal has not really set the stage alight under Ten Hag. The manager did hand him a few opportunities last season but Kobbie Mainoo’s rise saw his minutes reduce drastically before the ill-fated loan to La Liga in January.

He did not improve as much as expected during his time in the first team, something that happens with quite a few promising stars and in a cut-throat environment, such harsh decisions are bound to be taken.

The player is also determined to seek an exit this summer, even going on to submit a transfer request and it is only a matter of time before he is sold.

INEOS are unlikely to recoup the £9.3 million they paid Monaco for him in 2019 but if they include a hefty sell-on clause like they did with Facundo Pellistri’s sale, the club could earn a decent fee.

With United’s deal for Ugarte inching closer with Paris Saint-Germain, Hannibal’s prospects are best served playing elsewhere even if it involves the player playing a rung below.

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