Luke Chadwick has sung the praises of Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri and has tipped the 18-year-old to be a "very special player" in the future.
The midfielder is currently on international duty with Tunisia and was awarded the man-of-the-match in the Arab Cup semi-final as his nation beat Egypt on Wednesday night to reach the final.
Mejbri made his United debut in the final game of last season in the 2-1 win over Wolves but has yet to feature in the Premier League this season and he will be looking to make an impression on new manager Ralf Rangnick when he returns to Carrington.
In recent years, there has been a promising line of youth prospects at United knocking on the door of the first-team with Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Scott McTominay all successfully making the jump.
Rangnick handed a number of debuts out in the 1-1 draw with Young Boys earlier this month with six debutants making their Reds bow, including Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage.
But Chadwick's hopes are pinned on the Tunisian to break through and stamp his mark on the professional game.
“That’s what Manchester United is built on from years gone by,” he told CaughtOffside on Mejbri.
“Even with the huge downwards spiral the club has been on, with where they’ve finished in the league and lack of trophies since Sir Alex retired, the one constant has been those academy players who’ve come through into the first-team.
“I’ve seen quite a lot of him [ Mejbri ] in the Under-18s and Under-23s. He’s got a huge amount of technical ability, but more than anything he’s a big character, he’s got huge self-confidence.
“He even gets involved in a few things he maybe shouldn’t, with some strong tackles and a bit of pushing and shoving and that sort of thing. But he’s a player who plays on the edge, and someone who needs to develop physically to play at Premier League level in my opinion.
“But he’s got the raw potential to be a very special player in years to come. United rate him incredibly highly, he’s got a bit of that X-factor that you look for, someone who might come on and excite the crowd.”
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