Hannibal Mejbri's spell at Sevilla goes from bad to worse as entourage in 'disbelief' at situation

Hannibal Mejbri's entourage are in 'disbelief' at his current situation, according to reports in Spain, as the midfielder continues to struggle for first-team minutes.

The 21-year-old midfielder joined La Liga side Sevilla in January on a six-month loan deal featuring an option to buy clause worth £17 million.

Explaining his decision to leave Manchester United, he said: "I like Sevilla's project and I think I can help the team to be better this season. I hope we can advance together and do something important in what's left."

Despite his optimism, however, things haven't quite worked out for Mejbri.

In fact, the Tunisia international has made just four appearances for Quique Sanchez Flores' side, with his limited time on the pitch totalling 89 minutes.

Hannibal's entourage are in shock at the unfolding events. According to Estadio Deportivo, they ‘do not understand’ why he isn’t being picked by Flores and mention his career 'going backwards'.

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"With nine games left and the team's delicate situation, there is no signs of improvement for Hannibal," the report adds.

Former Watford manager Flores handed Mejbri his debut against Girona on January 21 but was far from complimentary about the player's performance that day.

“After being with him, talking to him and having seen his first minutes in Girona, we are going to give him the necessary space to understand where he is, that he is at Sevilla and what it means," Flores said.

“He has to know where he is and we want to see him. We have spoken with him and we believe that he has to have some time to learn, we wanted to give him space, time for him to see things from the outside and then he will return to the squad.

"In the end they are kids who have come and suddenly landed in a huge club like Sevilla in circumstances of maximum demand.

“And they need a bit of location. And that location may be seen better from the outside than from the inside. You should take a step to understand what we want."

Flores added: "Let’s see if the boy applies himself and I think that in the end he will understand perfectly what we want.”

Those close to Mejbri have also questioned former Leeds man Víctor Orta, who is the sporting director at Sevilla.

Los Rojiblancos currently sit 16th in the La Liga standings with nine games remaining. They are just six points above the drop zone after a campaign featuring six wins from a possible 29.