Tottenham Hotspur reportedly missed out on Hannibal Mejbri.
According to The Independent, Tottenham Hotspur missed out on a deal for Monaco talent Hannibal Mejbri, as he instead joined Manchester United.
Mejbri, 16, has been coming up through the Monaco ranks in the last couple of years, having previously been on the books of Paris FC and Boulogne-Billancourt.
The midfielder has been wanted for some time now, with some of the world’s biggest clubs targeting his signature – and United have secured his signature.
It’s stated that United have paid a staggering €10million (£9.3million) for Mejbri, and have beaten Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur to his signature.
Mejbri has been touted for stardom, and Spurs may be gutted to miss out on such a promising talent, but that kind of money would have been a gamble.
Spurs paid a similar price to land winger Jack Clarke from Leeds, but at least he has a season of Championship football under his belt, rather than being a complete rookie like Mejbri.
£9.3million isn’t a huge outlay for major clubs, but when you factor in that more proven talents like Clarke can be signed for a similar price, splashing that on a 16-year-old seems like a big gamble.
Tottenham will remember paying up for John Bostock in the past, and will know that players of that age are in their formative stages, both as players and as people, and investing huge money can be a source of pressure at such a young age.
Liverpool pulled off a similar deal by signing Harvey Elliott, but for Spurs, their money may be better spent elsewhere, especially with young midfielders Oliver Skipp and Harvey White emerging at the same time.
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