Sevilla reveal huge update on Man Utd loanee following first-team exile

Sevilla head coach Quique Sanchez Flores has admitted Manchester United loanee Hannibal Mejbri now has a future with the Spanish club after making his first start at the weekend.

The 21-year-old joined Sevilla on an initial loan for the rest of the season during the January transfer window and they retain the option to buy him for £17m this summer.

However, Hannibal's loan spell got off to a rocky start when he was deemed not ready to play by Sanchez Flores after playing 28 minutes of a 5-1 loss to Girona. He was subsequently used for just nine further minutes over Sevilla's next seven games.

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Speaking after the defeat to Girona, Sanchez Flores said: "Hannibal, after speaking with him and seeing his first minutes in Girona, we have given him the necessary space for him to understand where he is, what Sevilla means and where we want to see him defending the shirt.

"We have given him that learning period so that he can see things from the outside and he will return to the squad as one more player and as a player who we hope will contribute a lot until the end of the season.

"In the end, he has landed in a great club like Sevilla, in circumstances which require maximum demand and that require a bit of location. Sometimes, things look better from the outside than from the inside and, from our point of view, I had to take a step for him to see how we organise ourselves. We want him to apply it and we believe he will understand perfectly what we want."

But Hannibal seems to have turned a corner in Andalusia and he made his first start for Sevilla in Saturday's impressive 3-2 win against Real Sociedad.

Post-match, Sanchez Flores spoke glowingly of the Tunisia international, telling Diario de Sevilla: "The boy is reaching another level of understanding and is now capable of playing at any time.

"This has been a more mental adaption than a footballing one. Going from the Premier League to La Liga, which is very different.

"And moving to a team with a very difficult situation. From Manchester United, which was fighting among the top five, to Sevilla, which is among the bottom seven. It is very different. He had to be grounded, put [the challenge] into perspective and now it is the coach who has to play him."

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