MAN UTD FIND BUYER FOR PROBLEM PLAYER AS REIGNING LEAGUE CHAMPIONS RESCUE COLLAPSED DEAL
Dutch champions Feyenoord are convinced a struggling Manchester United star will come good in the Netherlands and are prepared to pick up where Sevilla left off, according to a report.
A sweeping squad overhaul is on the horizon at Old Trafford this summer. The Mirror recently listed a dozen players who Man Utd could wave goodbye to at season’s end. The headline name among them was forward Marcus Rashford.
Other outlets have also gone big on the idea of new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe sanctioning mass change.
The Manchester Evening News stated offers will be entertained for the likes of Alvaro Fernandez, Donny van de Beek, Hannibal Mejbri, Jadon Sancho, Mason Greenwood and Facundo Pellistri. Antony is another who TEAMtalk has learned can leave if suitable offers are received.
Journalist Steve Bates subsequently revealed Ratcliffe plans to end Man Utd’s era of ‘Hollywood’ signings and former Real Madrid pair Raphael Varane and Casemiro will be ousted as a result.
Today’s update regards 21-year-old Hannibal who is currently loaned to Sevilla.
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The Spanish side fended off a late hijack attempt from Everton when signing the Tunisia international to a six-month loan in January. The deal contained a series of clauses inserted at Man Utd’s behest to ensure they covered all the bases.
An option to buy worth roughly €20m was included. Furthermore, a buy-back clause (in case Sevilla activate the option) believed to be worth €35m that remains active until the summer of 2026 was inserted. There’s also a significant sell-on clause present in the deal.
However, Hannibal’s time in Spain has been nothing short of disastrous. He was temporarily banished from the first team within weeks of arriving, has racked up just 89 minutes in total for his loan club and hasn’t featured since March 2.
As you might expect, numerous outlets including GiveMeSport all state Sevilla will not activate their option to buy.
Hannibal will thus be returned to Old Trafford this summer, at which point he’ll be entering the final year of his contract.
However, according to GMS, Man Utd could quickly find a new home for their unwanted midfielder in Rotterdam.
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Feyenoord to the rescue
They state Feyenoord – who have long-standing interest in Hannibal – are prepared to make another attempt to sign the midfielder.
Feyenoord are the reigning Eredivisie champions, though are on the cusp of being dethroned by PSV Eindhoven.
Feyenoord boss Arne Slot is on course to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield and his exit could kickstart mass change at the club.
Hannibal is among those who could benefit and be given an opportunity to revive his stuttering career in the Netherlands.
Whether Feyenoord would propose a loan or permanent buy proposal wasn’t stated. But given Hannibal’s United deal expires in 2025 anyway, only a permanent switch would make sense for the Red Devils.
United are unlikely to collect anything close to the €20m/£17.1m option they’d agreed with Sevilla if selling to Feyenoord.
But given the alternative is losing the player to free agency 12 months later, anything is better than nothing.
2024-04-25T10:42:34Z dg43tfdfdgfd