Hannibal Mejbri has given Manchester United a decision to make

It doesn't matter how well you have done at youth level; the real test comes when you are thrown into the real world of professional football.

That has been the case for Manchester United hopeful Hannibal this season, after an eye-opening campaign that has seen him cut his teeth in the physical environment of Championship football.

Hopes have been high for the 20-year-old ever since he arrived in English football four years ago. United invested a substantial sum of £9m in his services back then, evidence of the huge amount of promise he has shown.

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Now, as we approach the end of the season, he is at an interesting point in his career, having finally had the first proper taste of senior football that he has long craved.

Hannibal has gained priceless experience from his time away from the club this season, but he has struggled to hold down a consistent role in the Birmingham side.

He has started just two of their last 10 league matches, the latest coming in a defeat to already-relegated Blackpool at the weekend, the latest harsh reality check of the standards required in senior football.

Part of the dilemma is that it remains to be seen in what role he will eventually make his own, having played in four different positions during his current loan-spell.

Hannibal came through the youth ranks as an attacking midfielder, though he looks better suited to a deeper role given his tenacity and love for tackling.

There are still some reservations about his decision-making and overall quality in the final third, leading to the belief that his future could be as a deep-lying playmaker or even as a combative midfielder.

The majority of his appearances this