In a recent interview with Football Insider, former Premier League forward Gabriel Agbonlahor tipped Aston Villa to recruit Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe this summer. Agbonlahor said,
“Definitely.
“For the sake of his own career, he has to leave. He’s been there for too long now and not got a starting place, he plays the odd game.
“Sometimes you need to leave a big club, go and play and have a career. I’m sure that’s something Axel’s thinking about now with Varane coming in. There’s [Victor] Lindelof and [Eric] Bailly still there so he’s going to be fifth-choice centre-back.
“For me, it’s definitely something that Aston Villa can try and get done. I’m sure they can get a lesser fee because Manchester United will want to get him out of the club if he’s not going to play.”
Tuanzebe’s Frustrating Campaign At Old Trafford
Tuanzebe experienced a difficult season at the Theatre of Dreams as he struggled to earn a regular run of games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s stewardship. The Bunia-born defensive ace featured in 19 matches for the Red Devils in the previous campaign, receiving seven yellow cards across all competitions.
Despite his lack of playing opportunities, the 23-year-old still managed to impress by averaging 1.4 tackles and 1.7 clearances per game in Premier League football. He even distributed the ball with a lot of conviction after making 88.6% of his attempted passes in the English first division (stats via whoscored).
What Will Tuanzebe Bring To Villa Park?
Tuanzebe has decent pace in his locker and can make some important recovering challenges to come to his team’s rescue at the back. He is a tough-tackling centre-back who doesn’t take too many chances when clearing his lines inside his half.
The English defender is also a composed presence on the ball and can even put his body on the line to block a goal-bound shot from the opposition. However, Tuanzebe is currently surplus to requirements at Old Trafford after Man United secured Raphael Varane’s services from Real Madrid recently.
Hence, the Villans should consider launching a cut-price to bring the English centre-half to the West Midlands before the transfer window slams shut at the end of next month. Tuanzebe will bring some added quality to Dean Smith’s defence and could compete with Tyronne Mings and Ezri Konsa for a regular starting spot at Villa Park next season. Hence, the Midlands giants should prioritise on sealing a move for Tuanzebe this summer as he will be a decent squad player for them in the coming seasons.
