Hannibal Mejbri made an impressive full Premier League debut against Burnley and caught the eye of Tim Sherweeod (Picture: Premier League Plus)
Tim Sherwood has warned Erik ten Hag he risks upsetting team morale if he drops Hannibal Mejbri after his eye-catching full Premier League debut against Burnley last night.
The 20-year-old has been drafted into the first team as a consequence of an injury crisis that has denied the United manager the services of summer signings Sofyan Amrarabat and Mason Mount.
Mejbri joined United from Monaco four years ago and has had to bide his time to make an impact at senior level.
The elegant midfielder scored in last week’s defeat against Brighton and with several senior stars still unavailable, was promoted to the starting line-up for the trip to Turf Moor.
With their backs against the wall following a run of four straight defeats, United ground out a much needed victory thanks to a stunning volley from Bruno Fernandes on the stroke of half time.
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And while it was the skipper who walked away with the man of the match award, Sherwood felt it was Mejbri’s performance that represented the most encouraging aspect of United’s win.
He told Premier League Productions: ‘A real positive from the performance when I look at the individual performances for Man Utd Hannibal I thought was good.
‘He was brave, I thought he looked for the ball wherever he was.
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‘Out of possession he looked like he was going with urgency wherever he was to go and get it back.
‘I think he had a great game and he can only get better, I just hope he stays in the team.
‘He earned the right rather than one of the superstars coming back and getting in ahead of him, which is not good for team morale and team spirit.’
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