“They would have to make room for him” – Birmingham City close to striking Man Utd transfer deal: Is he a guaranteed starter? The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

When John Eustace arrived at St Andrew’s this summer, it was clear he had a job ahead of him as he tried to rebuild a Birmingham City side that came close to the relegation zone last year.

The Blues haven’t had a bad start to the season but with the summer transfer window remaining open until the end of August and a long season ahead, the manager is continuing to look at options for his side.

One man on Birmingham’s radar is youngster Hannibal Mejbri who looks to be available for a loan move away from parent club Manchester United.

Manchester Evening News have reported that the Blues are close to agreeing a deal and completing the signing so with that in mind, here we asked three of FLW’s writers if they think he would be a guaranteed starter at St Andrew’s.

Carla Devine

Despite being just 19-years-old, the midfielder has shown promise so far and you would hope his talent could adapt into the Championship quite well and make him a valuable player.

Therefore, I do feel as though you would see him as a regular player for Birmingham City this season. It’s an area of the field where the Blues will feel as though they still need some further additions meaning he is a signing that solves a problem for a manager.

Furthermore, you don’t imagine that Manchester United would be prepared to send him out on loan without a guarantee of regular minutes under his belt, especially with it being his first step into senior football.

With his age, it may take some easing into. However, once the youngster has a feel for the league, I can imagine we’d see a lot of him.

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Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

You have to assume that this will be the case, even if not right away.

Manchester United will surely have done their due diligence in terms of how much game time Hannibal Mejbri will receive out on loan, and you would question why they’d send him to Birmingham if he wasn’t in the plans to be a starter.

John Eustace has used Juninho Bacuna as an attacking midfielder so far this season, but he could quite easily slot further back in the centre of midfield to accommodate Mejbri.

That is certainly what I see happening in the long term this season, even if not right away, so yes, I do believe Hannibal Mejbri would be a starter at Birmingham City if he goes there.

Marcus Ally

They would have to make room for him.

Juninho Bacuna and Hannibal Mejbri operating behind a central striker, potentially Scott Hogan, would be an exciting prospect for Birmingham City supporters and United would likely insist on regular minutes when the Tunisian is fit.

Krystian Bielik walks into the Birmingham City midfield when he returns to fitness, and he could be a good foil for Jordan James, but if the Blues want to hurt teams in the final third, where they failed to lay a glove on Cardiff City at the weekend, Eustace should be looking to play Mejbri and Bacuna in attack-minded midfield roles, to maximise creativity.

Championship level.