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The highly-rated Tunisian international signed for Burnley on a permanent deal this summer, after rising through the ranks at Old Trafford.

Burnley completed the permanent transfer of Manchester United attacking midfielder Hannibal Mejbri this summer, and the Clarets will hope they can get the best out of the Tunisian international who was once highly rated at Old Trafford.

Signing for a reported initial fee of £5.4m, with a further £4m in bonuses, Burnley and Scott Parker have decided to take a chance on the creative midfield player.

Once a player who looked like he could be Manchester United's next star academy graduate, the 21-year-old made 13 first team appearances for the Red Devils dating back to his United debut in 2021.

But hit-and-miss loan spells with Birmingham City and Sevilla respectively meant it was time for him to move away from Old Trafford this summer, with Turf Moor being his next destination.

Football League World takes a look at Mejbri's career prior to his Burnley move, and explore why the Clarets will hope that Manchester United will live to regret commissioning his move to the club.

Despite some shortcomings in other areas of their squad, Manchester United certainly don't lack top-class firepower when it comes to attacking midfield.

The presence of Bruno Fernandes means that regular starting opportunities for any United player in that position, let alone a young player, is always going to be extremely limited.

Compounded by the emergence of Kobbie Mainoo, the headline signing of Manuel Ugarte, and the presence of proven top-level performers such as Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, and Mason Mount, and you can understand why the decision was made for Mejbri to seek pastures new this summer.

For a player with as much potential and ability as he has, the Tunisian is at the stage of his career where he needs to be playing regular games, and that's precisely what he can get with Burnley.

There will be a certain level of worry within Manchester United over whether they've made the right decision though, as is the nature of how highly he was thought of at the club.

Having signed for United in 2019 as a 16-year-old for a reported €10million from one of European football's great talent foundries, Monaco, United secured the signature of one of football's brightest young talents.

His work rate, desire and his playing on the edge at times all contributed to him becoming a player that United fans were desperate to see more of. In fact, his 12.9 kilometres ran during a Premier League game away at Turf Moor in 2019, set a new record for a Manchester United player since they began collecting those records in 2019.

Former head of first team development at United, Nicky Butt would rave over Mejbri's potential just last year, telling the Manchester Evening News: "I still follow all of the players that I worked with because I genuinely think they’re good lads, good human beings and Hannibal was a great kid.

"He’s such a talented player and I’ve not seen him train for two years, so I can’t comment now, but back then he was immature in the mind, as you would be at that age, so hopefully he’s matured on and off the pitch.

"He’s going to be an excellent player for Manchester United or wherever he goes over the next few years. It’s difficult to get into Man United’s first team because the club has the funds to buy anyone they want.

"That makes it a challenge for young players to go cement a position in the squad, but he’s an immense talent. With Hannibal, it was the way he never stopped, he could give the ball away four times but he wouldn't shrink.

"He'd try to make that final pass or produce a shot to get a goal, so his bravery impresses me. That talent gets you through the gate, to begin with, but what keeps you there is consistency and the ability to keep on doing it when you’re having bad times and Hannibal definitely has that."

Sometimes, all it takes is a change of scenery and a new dressing room dynamic to unlock a player's potential. That's certainly what Burnley will be hoping to achieve with Mejbri.

Breaking into the first team squad at Manchester United is hard, staying there is even more challenging, and with the pressure and scrutiny that comes with representing a club like United, heading to Turf Moor may be a welcome weight off his shoulders.

That's not to say there's no pressure or scrutiny involved when playing for Burnley. Of course there is, especially with a clear aim of achieving promotion this season.

But Mejbri should view Turf Moor as a stage upon which he can really express himself, and show why there was once so much excitement around him across the footballing world.

Apart from Mejbri, the Clarets don't really possess another natural number 10 player like the former United youngster, with the early indication being that Parker sees Zian Flemming as more of a centre-forward and an alternative to Lyle Foster.

As such, Mejbri could really make that role his own for Burnley this season, with the potential being there for him to flourish in Parker's quality-laden attacking side.

Should he hit the ground running at Turf Moor, and if Parker can get the best out of him, the Clarets could well have one of the best attacking players in the Championship on their hands.

And at just 21, there is still so much room for him to grow, and time for him to do it. It might well be that, in time, Man United regret sanctioning the permanent exit of a player they once rated so highly.