Hannibal Mejbri knows a spell in the Championship will force him to master doing the 'dirty work' needed from an aggressive central midfielder.
Mejbri joined Birmingham City on loan for the rest of the season last summer as he looked to step up into regular senior football. The 20-year-old made his United debut as a teenager back in 2021 but had only managed two more senior appearances since.
In dropping down to the second-tier, Mejbri followed a number of former and current United youngsters in bridging the gap between youth football and the Premier League, not least current teammate Tahith Chong who left M16 permanently last summer. The Dutch international warned back in September of the difficulties in adapting to senior football, and his Tunisian counterpart has since detailed the biggest lesson learned over the last few months.
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"Now if someone kicks me I have to kick them back!" Hannibal joked to Sky Sports when asked about coping with the physicality. "No, I have to stay in the game and show my quality first. If someone kicks you it is no problem. You have to forget and keep going.
"I think I have some good technical ability and I can play some good passes. I see things maybe earlier than some other players. But since I am in the Championship, I have seen that I need to work on my physical capabilities. It is making me a better player.
"As a Championship No 8 you have to contest the second balls. You don't really see this dirty work as much in the Premier League, but it is really important in the Championship. If you don't pick up those second balls or win your duels you can feel it straight away."
A move to the Midlands and senior football is not the first culture shock Mejbri has endured, the France-born youngster leaving Monaco for Manchester back in 2019. And it was with that move that the physical difference again provided the barrier, the then-teenager having to put in extra work to catch up to his teammates.
"In France, we did not really do gym work, we did more technical things, so when I came to England and saw there was a gym, I was surprised," he added. "I remember when I had to do my first gym session. It was really hard. I saw the other lads doing everything easily but it was really hard for me. I went back home that night and did some push-ups! I was doing extra to slowly get up to speed with the training."
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