After returning from a loan spell at Aston Villa last season that saw Dean Smith’s side earn promotion to the Premier League, Axel Tuanzebe may have hoped he would be featuring prominently in Manchester United’s first-team this year.
Unfortunately for him, Harry Maguire’s big-money move to Old Trafford has undeniably locked down one of the centre-back positions for the years to come, leaving just one remaining spot for several defenders to fight for. And so far, the winner of that contest has been Victor Lindelof, who has played 18 games across all competition. Tuanzebe on the other hand has made just the nine appearances.
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But against Colchester in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night, the 22-year-old put in the kind of composed display that would have made Ole Gunnar Solskjaer no doubt sit up and take notice from the touch-line. The obvious caveat will be that the Red Devils brushed aside a team in ninth in League Two, and so any conclusions must be taken with a pinch of salt. But the ease in which Tuanzebe commanded the game from the back should really give him a major boost for his potential first-team chances.
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Lining up alongside Magure in what was a relatively strong United eleven, the academy graduate shone bright in the 65 minutes he was on the pitch. He carried out his defensive duties in supreme fashion, and dealt with any danger with authority and purpose. As per Sofascore, he made two tackles and three interceptions, whilst he won all four of his ground duels too.
And whilst his defensive stats look particularly impressive, his numbers in possession were arguably even more stand-out. He lost the ball just once over the hour and a bit that he played, whilst he registered an unbelievable 98% pass accuracy with his 57 passes. Not to mention the fact he successfully completed both of his two long balls as he looked to spread the point of attack.
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His composed display came alongside Maguire, the undisputed number one centre-back at United. So whilst Solskjaer has looked at Lindelof as the man to partner the former Leicester star, Tuanzebe certainly made his case to usurp him over the coming weeks. If he can shake off the knock it looked like he may have picked up when going off, he could be in-line to be a major presence in the United back-line sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Manchester United fans have a rather surprising reaction to news this ace could leave next summer.