Axel Tuanzebe’s once promising career at Manchester United is drawing to an end after the club refused to extend his expiring contract.
The 25-year-old defender will relinquish his long-term association with the Red Devils when his deal expires at the end of June, as per ManUtd.com.
Having joined the club’s youth academy at the age of eight, Tuanzebe climbed through the ranks at Old Trafford before making his senior debut in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.
While fighting through the youth categories, he won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award in 2014/15 and earned the Denzil Haroun Reserve-Team Player of the Year prize in 2016/17.
His phenomenal showings for United’s youth teams made Man United believe they had a gem in their hands, leading many to consider him the future defensive leader at the Theatre of Dreams.
Unfortunately, Tuanzebe’s senior career in Manchester has never gained momentum.
Despite only making 37 first-team appearances for United, he has captained the club at every level, but he has spent most of his career with the Red Devils on loans.
After helping Aston Villa secure Premier League promotion in 2018/19 during an eye-catching loan spell in the Championship, he returned to Man United keen to make a name for himself.
Only 21 at the time, the Englishman persuaded Ole Gunnar Solskajer to hand him the captain’s armband in a Carabao Cup tie against lower-league Rochdale.
All pieces seemed to be falling into place to help Tuanzebe reach the promised heights before a lengthy spell on the sidelines hindered his progress under the Norwegian manager.
Upon his return from a long-term injury, he made the starting line-up against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, yet since reaching the high point of his United career, things went south.
Tuanzebe fell out of favour at Old Trafford before returning to Villa Park for another season-long loan in 2021/22, only to make nine Premier League appearances for the Birmingham outfit.
And after underwhelming loan spells at Napoli and Stoke City, he finally convinced Man United to cut him loose this summer.
