Manchester United U23 coach Neil Wood says Hannibal Mejbri is tougher than many believe.

The 18-year-old arrived from Monaco in 2019 in a deal that could reach 10m euros (£9.3m) and has been making strides in the youth set-up, showing an impressive attitude that complements his aptitude.

“He loves getting on the ball, he loves creating and teams love to hack him down as much as they can," Wood said. “He's doing really well, he's been outstanding for the last couple of games.

“I think what a lot of people don't realise about Hannibal is that they see him getting fouled, they hear the screams every now and then but he's a tough cookie.

“The Accrington game the lad broke his nose in the first 10 minutes and he played the whole game with two stents up his nose – there's not many players who would do that. He's a lot tougher than he's given credit for.

“I think he's the type that wants the ball all the time, he's not going to shy away from it and that's what we want, you don't want your top players being worried. He just needs a bit of protection – it could result in him being badly injured."