Report explains how Man United pipped Spurs to signing of midfield starlet

Manchester United managed to pip Tottenham to the signing of talented midfielder Hannibal Mejbri thanks to the help of football director John Murtough, according to The Athletic. 

Mejbri joined the Red Devils as a highly-rated 16-year-old from Monaco in August 2019, with a deal worth a reported 10 million (£8.4m), according to Goal.

In doing so, United beat a host of interested European clubs, including Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich (Evening Standard). 

While Spurs were among the interested parties, The Athletic has since revealed they were overtaken in the race by United, who moved forward in negotiations courtesy of club chief Murtough. 

The report states the director invited Mejbri to watch a pre-season friendly in Norway’s capital Oslo in the summer of 2019 to try and convince him to move to Old Trafford. 

The act proved to be successful with the midfielder taking the plunge to move from France to England. 

Mejbri has since made just one appearance for United’s first-team, but he has featured regularly for the club’s development side (Transfermarkt). 

Spurs Web Opinion 

United clearly wanted Mejbri more than any other club and accommodated him to try and convince him of the move. He is clearly very highly regarded and he is already a full international at just 19-years-old. Obviously, it remains to be seen how successful he could be given he is still so young. 

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