Reports from Spain suggest that Hannibal Mejbri’s camp is stunned by his lack of first-team action.
Despite his potential, the 21-year-old’s quest for significant playtime remains unfulfilled since his move to Sevilla on a six-month loan, which includes a £17 million purchase option.
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Explaining his decision to leave Manchester United, he said: “I like Sevilla’s project and I think I can help the team to be better this season. I hope we can advance together and do something important in what’s left.”
Hannibal Mejbri’s optimism hasn’t translated into the expected game time. The Tunisian player has only graced the field four times for Quique Sanchez Flores’ team, accumulating a mere 89 minutes of play.
The circle around Mejbri is reportedly bewildered by these developments, with sources from Estadio Deportivo expressing confusion over his absence from the lineup and concerns about his career stalling.
“With nine games left and the team’s delicate situation, there is no signs of improvement for Hannibal,” the report adds.
In his debut under former Watford coach Flores against Girona on January 21, Mejbri’s performance received less than glowing remarks from the manager.
“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,” 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 landed 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.”
Flores added: “Let’s see if the boy applies himself and I think that in the end he will understand perfectly what we want.”
Mejbri’s associates are casting doubts on Víctor Orta, the sporting director at Sevilla and former Leeds figure.
With only nine matches left, Sevilla finds itself in a precarious 16th place in La Liga, a mere six points clear of relegation, following a season with just six victories out of 29 games.
