Liverpool have been beaten by Manchester United to the signature of exciting midfield prospect Hannibal Mejbri from Monaco, according to the Daily Star.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Reds’ Premier League rivals also beat Manchester City, Barcelona, Arsenal, and Paris Saint-Germain to the 16-year-old playmaker.
The Daily Star reports that Man United will pay £9million for the starlet after they invited him to their training complex to impress him and persuade him that Old Trafford is the place where he can progress his game.
French publication, L’Equipe first revealed that Mejbri would travel to Manchester after an agreement was reached between the clubs at the end of July, with Monaco confirming the move via their official Twitter account on Sunday.
Following his transfer to Manchester United, AS Monaco would like to wish Hannibal Mejbri all the best in his future career. pic.twitter.com/jzwDwIt0Jw
— AS Monaco EN (@AS_Monaco_EN) August 11, 2019
OPINION
Liverpool will no doubt be massively disappointed to be missing out on the signing of Mejbri. Jurgen Klopp all but confirmed his intentions in the transfer window in regard to the fact that he was targeting younger players to come in and the former Monaco man would have fit that strategy perfectly. Liverpool’s main two signings were 16-year-old Harvey Elliott and 17-year-old Sepp van den Berg, with both being given game time in the club’s academy to possibly impress the German, who will not be afraid to throw them into the deep end. Mejbri has eight caps for France under-16’s and has failed to make much of an impact in terms of senior football, with young talent in England more than likely to be given the chance to impress in older age groups in the academies. The 16-year-old would have been given more opportunities to succeed at a quicker pace in Merseyside but given the fact that Liverpool never seemed to seriously pursue the starlet, they will move on quickly from the disappointment.
