RALF RANGNICK has promoted Hannibal Mejbri to Manchester United’s first-team squad after the teenager dazzled senior stars in training.
Interim boss Rangnick says the ‘promising talent’ will ‘regularly’ be in the squad, starting with Friday’s FA Cup home tie with Middlesbrough.
Attacking midfielder Mejbri, who was 19 on January 21, starred in Tunisia’s run to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals.
And he will be in the United party alongside fit-again Paul Pogba for the fourth-round visit of Championship side Boro.
Rangnick told MUTV: “He will, from now on, regularly train with us and be a regular member of the squad.
“To be honest, I haven’t seen that much of him as he was with the national team.
“I saw him play in the tournament, not the Africa Cup of Nations but the one before [the Arab Cup].
“I saw him play in the final and, from what I’ve seen so far, I think he’s a promising talent.
“He deserves to be part of the group for the rest of the season and also part of the group for tomorrow’s (Friday’s) game.”
Mejbri’s precocious skills in practice – including humiliating more established aces – have been revealed by United insiders.
A club source told The Athletic: “He actually takes the ‘p***’ sometimes against players a couple of years older than him.
“He’ll feint to strike then drag it and shoot the other way.”
Fred fell victim to Mejbri’s dribbling in clips that went viral last September.
Now the Brazil midfielder and Co will have to get used to it more often as the whizkid is integrated permanently into the squad.
