Man United loanee Hannibal Mejbri is DROPPED by Sevilla – as boss Quique Sanchez Flores tells the youngster to ‘apply himself’ and says he needs ‘time to learn’

Sevilla have dropped Manchester United loanee Hannibal Mejbri and issued a patronising statement, claiming the ‘boy’ needs to ‘apply himself’. 

Hannibal was not in the squad for the Copa del Rey quarter-final loss to Atletico Madrid on Thursday and will not feature against Osasuna on Sunday – or in any upcoming games until his issue is resolved. 

The 21-year-old joined Sevilla on loan this January and has made one appearance off the bench for the LaLiga strugglers. 

Manager Quique Sanchez Flores said: ‘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.

‘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.

Quique Sanchez Flores explained that Hannibal needs to ‘apply himself’ away from the team

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‘In the end they are kids who have come and suddenly land 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.

‘Let’s see if the boy applies himself and I think that in the end he will understand perfectly what we want.’

Hannibal is seen as one of the brighter talents of Manchester United’s stock of youngsters. 

United bought him for £9.3million from Monaco in 2019 and he has been capped 27 times by Tunisia. 

A loan to Birmingham City last season saw him play consistent Championship football and it was hoped a stint with Sevilla would introduce him to the cut and thrust of regular top-level football.

Sevilla are slogging through an arduous season, sitting just one point and one place above the relegation zone, and a high-pressure situation could be character-strengthening for him. 

Hannibal managed 10 appearances for United in the firts half of the season before being sent on loan, with the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo limiting his first-team chances at Old Trafford.

But Sevilla’s statement suggests they do not think he is ready to be thrown into a demanding environment so soon. 

While it is understandable for a club to think a young player needs time to learn, to make such a public point of it is striking and unusual.