Man Utd ace Hannibal Mejbri impossible to keep under the radar, says Nicky Butt

Nicky Butt claims Manchester United can’t keep Hannibal Mejbri hidden away.

The midfielder is viewed as a rising star in world football but is still only 16 years old.

United handed over a staggering £9.3m to Monaco in the summer to ensure they got him signed up.

But with the scrutiny that comes with such a hefty price tag, Butt – who is head of United’s first-team development – says he can’t keep shielding the rookie.

"It's hard to get him under the radar when we've chased him for so long and he's come from a big club for a big fee, so that's impossible,” he explained.

"But you want to get young people under the radar because, coming from a different country and getting the price tag in your head and coming to one of the biggest clubs in the world, there's going to be so much pressure in the first place.

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"I've got a 16-year-old kid who, I would hate that pressure on their shoulders…

"But they have that and it'd be foolish to put them out there too soon, because you don't know what's around the corner. They're children."

Mejbri isn’t expected to be a regular in the first team yet.

And Butt has warned there will be plenty of bumps along the way.

"There is a long road to the first team and big bumps and some are going to do what Mason [Greenwood] or Marcus [Rashford] have done,” he added.

"Some might go the Jesse [Lingard] way – going on loan five or six times and getting there.

"We've got some really good players that I believe will play for Man Utd. When, I don't know.

"But they will play for Man Utd and, yeah, some of them have been brought through the ranks from seven, eight, nine or ten."

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