Romano: Everton ‘want to hijack’ Man Utd transfer as midfielder gives ‘green light’ to move | OneFootball

Hannibal Mejbri could be on his way out of Old Trafford this winter

Everton are hoping to “hijack” Hannibal Mejbri’s move from Man Utd to Sevilla, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.

The Tunisia international has made nine appearances in all competitions this season as the Red Devils have struggled in Erik ten Hag’s second season at the club.

There are rumours that Sir Jim Ratcliffe will look to shave as much as £30m off the wage bill over the winter transfer window with the British billionaire waiting for his deal to buy 25 per cent of Man Utd to be ratified by the Premier League.

One report out of Tunisia claimed earlier this week that Hannibal would be one player who Ten Hag would block from leaving Man Utd in January.

Hannibal has earned praise for his performances this season with former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood criticial of Ten Hag for not playing him more.

But Romano hints that an exit for Hannibal is definitely possible with Everton looking to “hijack” Sevilla’s attempts to loan the Man Utd youngster with an option to buy.

Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: “Hannibal Mejbri is one to watch at the moment. As I reported a few days ago, the plan is for him to leave Manchester United on loan, which is why he didn’t go to the AFCON with Tunisia. He had bids from Freiburg, Lyon and Sevilla, but Sevilla are the big favourites to sign Hannibal.

“Hannibal himself told Sevilla he wanted to join, so the Spanish club approached Manchester United to negotiate a loan with a buy option, buy-back clause, and so on. The conversations started, but meanwhile, Everton also approached Hannibal and also want to make a loan approach for the midfielder – they want to hijack Sevilla’s deal.

“Everton will insist, and I think they have a chance. It won’t be easy because of Hannibal’s green light to Sevilla, but that deal isn’t done yet and Everton are trying. Let’s see if Sevilla can remain in pole position, but they need to finalise an agreement with United as well, not just the player.

“Another Everton story I’m seeing a lot is Amadou Onana. For sure, interest is there since a long time from English and Spanish clubs – Onana is super appreciated around Europe. However, there is currently no substantial update on this one. Obviously Everton would prefer to sell him in the summer rather than during the middle of the season.

“Another important update on Manchester United – Jadon Sancho is still waiting for Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United to clarify the final details of the loan deal, on things like loan fee and payment terms. One crucial point is that it will be a straight loan for Sancho to Dortmund, with no buy option. Why? Because United believe that the value for Sancho at the moment is not realistic – he’s not played since September, so they don’t want to do a cheap deal now. They want to do a straight loan and then assess the situation in the summer, probably with a new director and new people at the club.

“A deal that probably won’t be happening this January, however, is one for Antonio Silva. Despite latest rumours about Chelsea, I’m hearing no updates so far and all sources expect any deal to be more than difficult in January as Benfica don’t want to sell him. Manchester United have scouted him multiple times and he remains one of the players they like but not for now, he’s probably going to be too expensive in January.”