23 Sep 2019 16:58:04
Ed001 have you seen or heard anything about Hannibal Mejbri the kid we signed from Monaco? Supposedly he's with our 23s tonight. Now granted a few will likely be involved against Rochdale. Just wondering if you have any info on him?
Cheers.
{Ed001's Note - I have only seen pictures of him. I was told, a year or so ago (I think) when he was at Monaco that this was the best French youngster since Mbappe. It might have even been longer than that thinking about it, a lot longer. Apparently he is a special talent though I have not seen anything of him playing. Funnily enough one of the people who raved about him now works in United's scouting dept, so it is probably no surprise you signed him. One of the things clubs like about him is his family are apparently a very good influence on him. A bit like Pulisic, they are seen as a plus and will help him keep his feet on the ground and working even if he hits the big time early.}
23 Sep 2019 17:37:03
That sounds very positive Ed, it’s good to know there’s potentially been a lot of effort going in to finding out about the player, as I know at that age a lot of parents can be disruptive to young players careers.
Thanks for the info.
{Ed001's Note - very welcome mate. You look to have a good one on your hands there.}
23 Sep 2019 17:57:51
Hope so Ed, need some positives for sure!
{Ed001's Note - he is certainly one of them. He did reject Liverpool in the past as well, so there is something else for you.}
23 Sep 2019 18:35:22
Let’s hope he can stay away from injury and develop nicely then Ed! Obviously there’s been a lot of talk over an overhaul of the academy, I think that talk started when Van Gaal was here. Has that finally started to take place? Because I do think in 3/ 4 years time we could have a very good squad if the likes of garner, greenwood, Gomes, mejbri develop into the players we hope?
{Ed001's Note - it has begun but it seemed to have stalled. Though it did go a long way towards fixing a lot of the problems, there are still some things left to do. No idea why it was not finished, it might simply be the club assessing the situation and looking around at other examples to decide on the next step.}
23 Sep 2019 19:02:28
I could see us try the Ajax method, in the sense of every year try and make say 2-3 additions to the first team via the market and adding in another couple of youngsters to the squad. Genuinely think we have quite a few talents coming through, which could be a sign of why for example we didn’t replace Lukaku or Sanchez due to the faith in greenwood etc.
24 Sep 2019 09:19:52
Enjoyed reading your views on the lad, Ed001. Didn't know much about him at all. Cheers for asking the question, Caolan.
{Ed001's Note - it is difficult to keep track of all these kids, no wonder you don't know much about him. I am quite sure we will all know all about him within about 3 years or so though.}
24 Sep 2019 11:10:20
Since I stopped playing Football Manager a few years ago, my finger is no longer on the pulse of the world's wonderkids 😠Though I did see a glowing report on the young lad at Barca, Fati. What's your views on him? Hype or has he got something?
{Ed001's Note - defo got something, I wonder if he is in the new version of FM? Their record on wonderkids is not the best, they don't seem to spot them at 14 or 15, just jump on the hype train. Fati is very good but he has a long way to go. I don't think he would be playing if Barca weren't so bad though.}
24 Sep 2019 14:20:08
Yeah, he's got a few decent ones ahead of him, but I suppose all he could do was take his chance when he got it. This has got me thinking of getting back on the FM wagon again. You're an enabler, Ed001! ðŸ˜.