Sevilla 'rule out signing Hannibal Mejbri on a permanent deal'

Sevilla aren't interested in making Hannibal Mejbri's loan move permanent at the end of the season due to issues with the player's attitude, according to reports.

The Tunisian moved from Old Trafford to Spain in the January transfer window on a temporary deal for the remainder of the season, with an option to make the deal permanent for around £15m.

Mejbri made his long-awaited break into United's first-team during the first half of the season and was relied upon by Erik ten Hag at a time when the club were facing a midfield injury crisis.

The 21-year-old moved to Seville boasting a reputation as one of Man United's most exciting academy prospects, but quickly fell out of favour with manager Quique Sanchez Flores.

He has so far played just 36 minutes in all competitions for the former Europa League winners and hasn't made an appearance since coming off the bench for eight minutes against Rayo Vallecano at the start of February.

Mejbri was tipped by Sevilla recruitment experts to be the January signing that would give them the biggest boost, but the club don't want to extend his stay past the end of the season, as reported by Estadio Deportivo.

The talented youngster prefers to be deployed as an attacking midfielder but can play across all midfield positions and in the frontline if required.

Complaints of problems with Mejbri's attitude and commitment were first raised by Sevilla shortly after he arrived at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium.

Flores called him out following his debut against LaLiga title chasers Girona, fuming:  'After being with him, talking to him and having seen his first minutes in Girona, we are going to give him the necessary space to understand where he is, that he is at Sevilla and what it means.

'He has to know where he is and we want to see him. We have spoken with him and we believe that he has to have some time to learn, we wanted to give him space, time for him to see things from the outside and then he will return to the squad.

'In the end they are kids who have come and suddenly land in a huge club like Sevilla in circumstances of maximum demand.

'And they need a bit of location. And that location may be seen better from the outside than from the inside. You should take a step to understand what we want.

'Let's see if the boy applies himself and I think that in the end he will understand perfectly what we want.'

United paid £9.3million to Morocco in 2019 for Mejrbi's signature and he has so far made 13 senior appearances and scored one goal in the process.