Hannibal Mejbri will be hoping that his loan from Manchester United to Sevilla goes better than that of Antony Martial in 2022. Martial arrived on a big contract and with ambitions of pushing second-placed Sevilla to the La Liga title. He scored one goal in an utterly unmemorable stint and they finished fourth.
Mejbri, 20, will be loaned for the rest of the 2023/24 season with Sevilla having the option to buy him for £14 million plus £3 million in add-ons. United have a buy-back option until June 2026, and a sizeable sell-on fee if he is sold elsewhere.
It’s the latest in a series of similar deals involving United’s academy graduates, demonstrating a greater willingness than in the past to let young talent leave while they are still developing. The club recognises that not every graduate will become a first-team regular at United and that they need to produce a return on their investments in young players.
It also helps with the club’s Financial Fair Play obligations. Mejbri cost €5 million when United signed him from Monaco in 2019. He played for the youth teams and also the club’s under-21s under coach Neil Wood.
“Hannibal is a great kid,” Wood, who coached him for two years, told The National. “He has a good football intelligence and will give everything for the good of the team. He’s a really likeable lad once you connect with him. He will go above and beyond for you.”
Wood also rates his technical ability. “He’s technically gifted but can also add more goals and assists to his game. He obviously needs to improve with the petulance-side of his game because he leaves himself open by taking cheap yellow cards, but I wish him well and think he’ll do well.”
Mejbri’s issue is that he’s moved to a struggling club who are nowhere near the level of the one Martial joined two years ago. The Andalusian side sit 17th in La Liga, with only three wins and 16 points from 20 games.
Sevilla have won once in the league since September. They are in serious danger of being relegated while as reigning Europa League holders. In Europe this term Sevilla failed to win any of their six Champions League games and failed to even make a return to the Europa League, a competition they’ve won six times since 2006. This is a team who competed in the European Super Cup final as recently as August and took Manchester City all the way before losing on penalties.
Last season they should have been knocked out of the Europa League by Manchester United, who led 2-0 after 24 minutes in the first leg, until goals in the 84th and a 92nd minute saw them draw 2-2 at Old Trafford. That gave the players previously unseen belief, which they carried through in a 3-0 home win.
However, the team are on to their third manager of the season and there’s institutional instability.
Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco – a lawyer and son of long-time president Jose Maria del Nido Benavente – is now the president, and even his dad is critical of him. It's like something out of a Cervantes novel.
On the field, Jesus Navas and Marcus Acuna, two veteran full-backs who are supposed to be Sevilla’s best players, are struggling. The team, now coached by Quique Sanchez Flores, concedes awful goals, especially from set pieces. Fans are fuming. And while average home crowds are 35,000, just 28,366 saw their recent home defeat to Athletic Club. Sevilla have lost four of their past five league games.
Mejbri will likely go straight into the side as a number 10 – a more advanced role than he’s used to. The French-born Tunisian international has been known to Sevilla for years and he was watched while on loan at Birmingham City in England’s Championship last season, where his energy was noted. The Andalusians think he has an eye for goal and that Spain will suit him because of the slower tempo.
The loan could work well for both clubs. The 20-year-old should get to play the football he needs. He started only one Premier League game at United this season, a 1-0 win at Burnley, though he started in both Carabao Cup games.
Sevilla were 19th in La Liga a year ago and rose to 12th. On Wednesday, they beat Getafe 3-1 away in the Copa del Rey – Getafe featured another on-loan United player, Mason Greenwood. Sevilla ultimately finished last season in 11th. They could yet do that again, but their next league fixture is Sunday’s trip to top-of-the-table Girona and February includes games against Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and in-form Valencia. It’s exactly the type of challenge Mejbri wants to be part of, and Sevilla need his help.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
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Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Ultra processed foods
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- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
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The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
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