Manchester United youth sensation Hannibal Mejbri will remain with the under 23 side next season amid speculation he could make the step-up to the first-team.
United signed Mejbri from AS Monaco’s youth academy last year in a move which cost a whopping £9m, as per TransferMarkt.
Mejbri, 17, made his under 18s debut last September before moving up to become a regular in the under 23s side.
The youngster’s contributions helped the United under 23s win promotion to the Premier League 2 after he provided three assists in just five appearances.
The young Frenchman has been tipped to develop into one of the best creative midfielders in world football after after fans liken his playing style to compatriot Paul Pogba.
With the Reds seemingly in the market for a first-team midfielder this summer, there has been some speculation that the youngster could step-up and join the first-team, however, according to under 23s manager Neil Wood, the club has no plans to move Mejbri up, yet.
Speaking to Manchester Evening News, Wood said: “I think what you need to remember is Hannibal is still a young lad, he is only 17.
“He’s not long been here really, he is probably coming up to almost a first completed season if that.”
In light of the bumper fee paid for Mejbri, fan’s eagerness to see him join the first-team is understandable, but Wood has been quick to remind the United faithful that the youngster still has a lot of learning to do, he said: “I think people get sucked into the price-tag, and again that is not Hannibal’s fault.
“So I think he is a young player with potential, he is one of the young players we have got with potential, but there is still a lot of development and learning which needs to be put into him.
“We still need to get him to a higher level to get him to even go and train with the first-team, so there is no rush to start pushing him in that first-team environment right now.
“I think the challenge is going to be enough for him at U23s right now and we are going to push him and try to move him up as quick as we can, but at the same time we won’t rush him if he’s not ready to do that.”
