You only get one chance to make a first impression and Hannibal Mejbri didn't waste it when he signed for Birmingham City on loan.

As part of his initiation ceremony at Birmingham, a confident Hannibal stood up and sang a song in English and French. His new teammates applauded his performance and he quickly became a popular member of the squad.

You'd forgive any young player for being reserved when walking into a dressing room away from their parent club for the first time, but Hannibal embraced his move to St. Andrew's and his personality shone through.

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Having the required personality and mentality is half the battle in professional football and the remainder is talent, something which Manchester United believed Hannibal had in abundance when signing him for an initial €5m as a teenager.

United fought off interest from Tottenham, Barcelona and Bayern Munich to sign Hannibal in August 2019 and, four years on since his arrival in Manchester from Monaco, he's now getting the first-team opportunities he dreamt of.

Sources described 'wide interest' in both loan and permanent transfers for Hannibal in the summer, but the decision was taken to keep him around Erik ten Hag's squad following a spell with Birmingham that was full of promise.

Hannibal spent the full season on loan at Birmingham and the brutal nature of the Championship matured him. He thrived on the competitiveness of each fixture and ended the campaign with 41 appearances under his belt.

Matt Gardiner, joint assistant head coach at Birmingham, was part of the staff that oversaw Hannibal's development and he recently spoke to the Manchester Evening News to give insight into his time in the Midlands.

Gardiner spoke warmly, in his thick Brummie accent, about Hannibal during the conversation and he painted a picture of a likeable, hardworking young player who was desperate to improve himself and help his team.

"He was excellent, on and off the pitch," Gardiner said. "He was really professional, especially considering he was 19 and 20 years old, but it's what you expect with a youngster coming from Manchester United.

"We had a lot of young players in the team last season. We actually gave the most minutes to Under-20 players in the Championship, along with being ranked seventh in Europe on that metric, and Hannibal was part of that.

"We had a blend of experienced professionals and players with energy that fitted into that group. Hannibal's very passionate and he's got a really good sense of humour, which I think helped him integrate into the group quickly."

But what about his initiation song in English and French? "He got up straight away and it was very good," Gardiner laughed.

After signing for the club at the end of August, Hannibal began his time at Birmingham with six consecutive appearances from the substitute bench and he was handed his full debut against Bristol City at St. Andrew's in October.

Birmingham stylishly won 3-0 and Hannibal made another 20 league starts across the season. "His desire to win and help the group was obvious straight away and he helped us get some really good points," Gardiner said.

"His aggressive pressure was huge for the way we played. He won a lot of balls back, he’d win a lot of fouls and I know it sounds simple, but his set-pieces were great and he had the courage to take them in pressure situations.

"Not everyone can do that and it sometimes looks easier than it is, which is a testament to his personality."

Birmingham ranked third for both goals scored and fewest conceded from set plays in the Championship last season and Gardiner was in charge of working on set-pieces. "We do unique meetings to prepare before every game," he added.

"We look through the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and if you look at Hannibal's first assist for the club, which came against Stoke, it appears to be a simple corner which hits the far post, but it's an example of his different deliveries.

"His technique is outstanding and his range of deliveries, from corners and free-kicks, was a real strength for us."

Hannibal had to wait until February to score his first Birmingham goal but it was worth the wait, with the youngster demonstrating initiative to score directly from a free-kick by catching West Brom's goalkeeper flat-footed.

The strike, which opened the scoring in that Black Country derby, was Hannibal's first professional goal and he was named man of the match for his performance. "It was a great game first, a good derby," he said in an interview after the win.

"I saw the goalkeeper was too high so I acted like I was going to cross so I shot. We are a big family here. When someone needs help, we are always there. We stick together."

Hannibal even had a message for Erik ten Hag and joked 'he was sure' the United manager had Sky Sports to follow his displays.

"I’d love to take credit for it," Gardiner said about the goal. "Our goalkeeper coach, Maik Taylor, spotted that and Hannibal's football brain executed it, so when I talk about having X-factor, that’s what I mean.

"To be able to follow it through and having no fear of missing is what makes him different - it was a brilliant goal."

Gardiner continued: "His fearlessness really stood out. I would say that and his hunger to always win, even in the games in training. He’s still only 20 and I would say he learns very quickly when you show him something.

"He’d get himself in really good scoring positions and he was always looking to slide or play someone in, so we’d tell him to shoot more and we worked on that. It was nice to see him score recently against Brighton.

"The Championship is relentless, it’s 46 games and we’ve just had three games in six days as I'm speaking to you. I think he learnt very quickly how to prepare, how to recover and get ready for the matches, which was great for us.

"He learnt a lot throughout the year, he really developed along with the other younger players. We do a PDP for the loan players who sign for us, which is a personal development plan working alongside Manchester United.

"That outlines how they want us to help him develop and what we’ve spotted as well, so he was always trying to learn and he regularly did extras, which I loved about him. He’d do a lot of extra technical points after training.

"He’d work on things like match shooting, taking the ball under pressure or working on his weaker foot, or whatever the topic was for that particular week. We helped him but he really helped himself during his time here."

Gardiner's description of Hannibal aligns with what United staff think at Carrington. Sources have described him as 'always positive around the place' and he's known to stay late to do extra work in the gym most days.

It's understood his loan was considered a success due to the volume and variety of games he played and sources have indicated Birmingham's formation, playing style and good relations between the clubs contributed to that.

Sources also described Hannibal as 'really excited to stay' at United because he knew he'd get a chance to play and he made his first start of the campaign against Burnley at Turf Moor, where he covered more ground than any other player.

That exact 'aggressive pressure' Gardiner described was an asset for Birmingham last season, but Hannibal giving the opposition no time to rest could often mean fouls were made, which brought attention from referees.

The youngster received 11 yellow cards last season but he was never shown a red. "I think it comes from wanting to win and that passion he has. Ultimately he loves to play football and that’s got to be a good trait," Gardiner said.

"His personality really comes through when he plays and there was never any worry really about him on that side. It’s a physical league and that was another part of his development, but because he never went past the line, it was never an issue."

Before joining Birmingham, Gardiner spent four years as Queens Park Rangers' assistant coach and he worked with Eberechi Eze.

Eze recently made his England debut and when asked about coaching the Crystal Palace winger and Hannibal, Gardiner said: "It’s very difficult to compare because they are individuals, but within their own right, you can see the desire and X-factor.

"That suggested they could progress to the next level. It’s a testament to themselves, their families and their coaches and we might only be with them for a small period of time, but you can just tell which players will go to the next level.

"You could see that with Eberechi and Hannibal, so I’m sure they’ll both have successful careers at the highest level. I think he can definitely succeed in the Premier League and what I love is his ambition and what he wants to do.

"He’s really proud of playing for his national team and really proud of playing for Birmingham and Manchester United. I think that the desire to play in the Premier League, Champions League and international tournaments, that’s a huge thing.

"You have to have the talent but you have to have the hunger as well, which Hannibal has no shortage of."

Gardiner added: "I think Birmingham was a really good club for him because of the people involved and the fans. John [Eustace], Keith [Downing], Maik [Taylor] and myself, we all care about developing young players.

"John is fearless in giving them chances and Hannibal was popular right from the start. He knew when to have fun at the right time, but he knew when it was serious in training, so he had a really infectious personality.

"We all still follow him, it was great to see him get his first United goal and hopefully there's more to come. Everyone at Birmingham is really pleased with his progress and hopefully, he will go to the heights he deserves."

Hannibal, speaking at the end of last season, said he will 'always cherish his time at Birmingham' and the relationships he built.

He arrived at St. Andrew's as a teenager and returned to Old Trafford as a man.