It was a day of mixed emotions at Manchester United, as players found out whether they had made the cut for their nation’s squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.
Andre Onana was perhaps the most high-profile inclusion of the lot, with the under-fire Cameroonian star named in Rigobert Song’s final list despite tensions with the country’s federation.
Onana has conceded 43 goals already at Man United having joined this summer from Inter Milan for £47million to replace David De Gea, despite playing only 27 games.
The Fiorentina loanee has not had the best start to his Red Devils career, but his heroics in Qatar last year are seemingly impossible to ignore for manager Walid Regragui.
Sofyan Amrabat was named in Walid Regragui’s Morocco squad for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations
Amrabat has not had the easiest of starts to his Manchester United career since joining on loan
Andre Onana was named in the Cameroon squad despite reported tensions with Rigobert Song (right) and Samuel Eto’o
The Atlas Lions reached the last four – the first African side to do so – before being knocked out by France in a storied World Cup campaign in Qatar.
Yet Amrabat has failed to live up to his billing thus far at United, having emerged as one of Italian football’s most in-demand midfielders at the end of last season.
The Dutch-born 27-year-old has played 17 games for United, but only averages 61 minutes a game, which is far lower than both parties might have expected ahead of his arrival.
While it was joy for Amrabat and Onana, though, there was bad news for Hannibal Mejbri, who was left out in the cold by Tunisia.
Jalel Kadri’s side feature only five players from Europe’s top five leagues, including Sheffield United’s Anis Ben Slimane .
The Man United youngster had seemingly broken into the first-team in recent months, with nine appearances and a goal so far this term in all competitions.
However with the fixture list set to become far less rigorous and United already out of two competitions, a loan move away from Old Trafford could see him pick up far more regular minutes.
The Tunisian international – who went to Qatar with his side – has reportedly piqued the interest of three top-flight clubs in Europe.
Hannibal Mejbri went to the World Cup n Qatar with Tunisia but has been left out the squad this time round
Mejbri is reportedly close to securing a loan move away from Man United – with a new deal also on the horizon according to reports
Fabrizio Romano states that Sevilla, Lyon and Freiburg are all monitoring his situation, and are thought to be ready to act in January over a short-term deal.
Mejbri’s future is still thought to be with United though, and he is expected to sign a new, long-term deal before departing for the remainder of 2023-24.
His place could be far more solid next term too, with Casemiro turning 32 this February, Amrabat’s loan spell unlikely to be extended and Scott McTominay’s future still uncertain.
Mejbri had spent the whole of last season on loan in the Championship with Birmingham, but has developed and improved further this term to catch the eye of some of Europe’s bigger names.
