Ole hints Hannibal is ready to step it up
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that Hannibal could be involved in a match squad for United before the end of the season.
Hannibal put pen to paper on a new long-term contract at United last month after impressing in the youth system since his transfer from Monaco in 2019.
The 18-year-old has four goals and seven assists to his name in 18 games for Neil Wood’s Under-23s this season and has caught the eye with a series of impressive displays in attacking-midfield.
Solskjaer has made a point of handing opportunities to United’s academy talent during his time in charge at Old Trafford and has given debuts to teenage duo Amad and Shola Shoretire already this year.
Hannibal was promoted to firstteam training earlier in the year and may have already made his senior bow if he hadn’t have suffered an injury that kept him out of action for a few weeks.
The Frenchman has now fully recovered, however, and Solskjaer doesn’t think it will be long before he is involved on a match day.
“Yes, definitely,” the manager told United’s in house media when asked if Hannibal could be in a match squad before the end of the campaign.
“He was unlucky getting injured, six weeks ago, when he was supposed to come up [to train] with us. Now he’s got over the injury and joined in, and he’s done well, the boy.
“Of course, you drip-feed them in and you don’t expect them to set the world alight, but you want to see them in this environment and he’s looked comfortable and confident.”