Man Utd: Romano gives verdict on ‘tense’ situation after manager banishes loanee from first-team | OneFootball

Fabrizio Romano has provided an update on Manchester United’s loanee Hannibal Mejbri, who is enduring a rough start at Sevilla.

The 21-year-old shone while on loan with Championship outfit Birmingham City in 2022/23 but barely featured for Man Utd during the first six months of this season.

After being restricted to just one Premier League start this season, it was announced earlier this month that he has joined Sevilla on loan. The La Liga outfit also has an option to make this deal permanent in the summer for around £15m.

Hannibal made his debut for Sevilla off the bench last weekend as his new side were hammered 5-1 by second-placed Girona.

Sevilla are enduring a horrific season as they are 17th in La Liga and just one point clear of the relegation zone.

Former Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores is their manager and he was unimpressed by Hannibal’s debut against Girona. Speaking following the defeat, he has confirmed that the loanee needs “the necessary space to understand” what it means to play for Sevilla.

“After being with him, talking to him and having seen his first minutes in Girona, we are going to give him the necessary space to understand where he is, that he is at Sevilla and what it means,” Sanchez Flores said.

“He has to know where he is and we want to see him. We have spoken with him and we believe that he has to have some time to learn, we wanted to give him space, time for him to see things from the outside and then he will return to the squad.

“In the end they are kids who have come and suddenly land in a huge club like Sevilla in circumstances of maximum demand. And they need a bit of location. And that location may be seen better from the outside than from the inside. You should take a step to understand what we want.

“Let’s see if the boy applies himself and I think that in the end he will understand perfectly what we want.”

In response to these comments, Romano revealed that there “was some tension in training” between Hannibal and his new Sevilla teammates but “everything has been clarified”.

“Things have not got off to a great start for Hannibal Mejbri at Sevilla, but what’s really going on with the Manchester United loanee and manager Quique?” Romano told Caught Offside.

“My understanding is that it is not a specific incident. There was some tension in training between some players and Hannibal too, but everything has been clarified and Hannibal spoke directly to the manager to keep the situation quiet.

“It’s all good now, though it’s obviously in not easy in general at Sevilla because their season has been horrible. They remain just a point above the relegation zone in La Liga.”