Erik ten Hag comments on Man Utd star and Rangers transfer target in focus after he smashed Red Devils record

Hannibal Mejbri is reportedly on the Rangers transfer radar - less than 12 months on from breaking a Manchester United record.

The Old Trafford star spent the second half of last season on loan at Sevilla but they have opted not to take up a £17m option to buy. He featured six times for the La Liga club and now looks likely to be on the move again.

According to reports in Africa, Rangers manager Philippe Clement has made Hannibal 'a priority' for his team. He already got a close look at him in action when the Tunisian international featured in the second half of a friendly between Man Utd and the Premiership side at Murrayfield earlier this month.

Copenhagen in Denmark are also on the case for Mejbri, it’s claimed, who is suggested to be at an ‘advanced’ stage of negotiations with Rangers. Last season, the 21-year-old lined up for just the second time for Manchester United in a 1-0 defeat of Burnley, keeping his place for a 3-0 League Cup win vs Crystal Palace last September.

He ran 12.9 kilometres against Burnley, a record for a Red Devils star since they started gathering the data in 2019, and it prompted glowing praise from boss Erik ten Hag. He told the Manchester Evening News last year: “I think he gives a very good message to the rest of the squad that this is the demand, this has to be the standard when you are playing in a position, what you have to bring to the team, to get success.

"Especially when you're playing against possession-based teams; he is a really good fit, to give a good contribution to a good performance and to the result. I don’t think [his adaptation has been] that quick. Before I came in here, he was already in the first team, he made his debut. Last year he was on loan and this year he is making progress.

"So that's why he deserved an opportunity and I think now he's taking that opportunity. Every time he has to improve and he had to give the evidence that he is worthy of playing. But that counts for everyone, every player in the squad.

“There are situations where players are ahead, but it's good that the internal competition is there and hopefully it gives other players a push that they have to bring more, they have to add more. Because he did a great job for the team, he really contributed to our levels in the last two games."