In The Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton, Lonnick once again excluded youth midfielder Hannibal Megerbury from the squad. The youngsters on the bench will be striker Alejandro Gananojo and left-back Alvaro Fernandes, and Tunisian international Hannibal, 19, was not named in the 20-man squad and ESPN said he had left the first team and was sent to Manchester United's under-23 youth team to reflect on himself.
It was reportedly explained that Lonnick was unhappy with Hannibal's over-the-top move in Manchester United's 4-0 defeat to Liverpool's double red club, and Hannibal was even publicly criticized and ordered to return to the reserves to re-exercise.
Hannibal appeared in the final six minutes of the Premier League at Anfield on 19 April, and the team was already 3-0 behind, and his several ferocious moves triggered the dissatisfaction of Liverpool players Robertson, Naby Keita and others, and was also warned by the referee for yellow cards. Not only that, but Hannibal stopped Maguire's cross and was cut off, causing United to concede their fourth goal.
Although it is believed that Maguire's cross-pass direction is improperly chosen, and Hannibal's fighting spirit has been recognized by including the famous gary Neville, Lonnick has a different view, he believes that Hannibal's fighting spirit is commendable, but the practice is not advisable, which may lead to a more disadvantageous situation for the team, so he decided to punish him and send him back to the youth team for training and competition, so that he can deepen his understanding, learn lessons, and strive for faster growth.
The 63-year-old Lonnick believes that Hannibal, as an international-level player, can no longer consider himself a young man, so the "reckless and erratic" move in the game is not commendable and disappointing.
In fact, since then, Hannibal has rarely appeared in the Premier League fixtures, with 3 games being abandoned. In addition to the match against Brighton, in the last round against Brentford, Lonnick chose the younger youngsters Alejandro Ganaco and Alvaro Fernandez to sit on the bench; against Arsenal, it was Ganganjo who went with the team. Only in the home game against Chelsea, because Manchester United is really short of major generals, Lonnick even if he arranged two substitute goalkeepers on the bench, plus 3 young players in youth training, could not fill 9 seats, Hannibal was able to be selected again, but in the end naturally did not get the opportunity to play.
Meanwhile, after the double red cross, Hannibal did play in two games between Manchester United's under-23 youth team against Arsenal and Liverpool, playing a full-time and starting 70 minutes respectively, and it seems that he was indeed arranged to participate in the second-team game.
United spent €10 million to sign 16-year-old Hannibal from Monaco, when he was seen as one of France's Pogba successors. Manchester United's youth system has high hopes for Hannibal, and fans hail him as the new prince of youth training and hope that the new coach Tenhag will reuse it when he takes office this summer.
However, Lonnick's punishment reminds Hannibal that he can have momentum on the pitch, but he must also play smart, take less unnecessary red and yellow cards, and not become the "ogre Hannibal".
The sword blade comes out of the grinding, and the plum blossom fragrance comes from the bitter cold; the heavens will descend upon the People of Si, and they will first suffer their hearts; born of sorrow, died of happiness... Young players suffered earlier setbacks, but not necessarily a bad thing, and United's current midfielder, McTomine, was also relegated to the second team when Solskjaer was initially in charge, and later proved himself again through hard work. In contrast, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, who have been on the first team, have experienced greater setbacks in their later careers.