Axel Tuanzebe

Axel Tuanzebe
Tuanzebe playing for Manchester United in 2017
Personal information
Full name Axel Tuanzebe[1]
Date of birth (1997-11-14) 14 November 1997[2]
Place of birth Bunia, DR Congo
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[3]
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 Aston Villa
(on loan from Manchester United)
Number 4
Youth career
2005–2015 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– Manchester United 5 (0)
2018 → Aston Villa (loan) 5 (0)
2018– → Aston Villa (loan) 9 (0)
National team‡
2016 England U19 1 (0)
2016–2017 England U20 9 (0)
2017– England U21 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:12, 8 October 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 01:16, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

Axel Tuanzebe (born 14 November 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Aston Villa, on loan from Manchester United.

He has represented England at under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels.

Club career

Manchester United

Early years

Tuanzebe was associated with the Manchester United academy from the age of eight.[4] He was a member of Milk Cup winning youth sides in 2013 and 2014.[4] In May 2015, Tuanzebe won the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award.[5] Academy coach Paul McGuinness noted that Tuanzebe was the first first-year scholar to captain the under-18 side since Gary Neville.[5]

On 31 October 2015, Tuanzebe was named on the substitutes bench for a match against Crystal Palace in the Premier League, the first time he had been a member of a first-team squad.[6][7]

2016–17 season

On 29 January 2017, Tuanzebe made his Manchester United debut as a 68th-minute substitute, replacing Timothy Fosu-Mensah during a 4–0 FA Cup victory over Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford.[8] Four days later, he extended his contract at Manchester United until 2020, with the option of a further year.[9] On 7 May 2017, Tuanzebe started a senior match for the first time, in a 2–0 defeat against Arsenal in the Premier League.[10] He won the Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year award in May 2017.[11]

2017–18 season

Tuanzebe made his first start of the season against Swansea City in the EFL Cup on 24 October 2017, playing a key part in the second goal of the 2–0 victory.[12] On 5 December 2017, he made his European debut in a 2–1 victory over CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Champions League.[13]

Aston Villa (loan)

On 25 January 2018, Tuanzebe joined Championship side Aston Villa on loan for the remainder of the season.[14] However, injuries meant he was only able to make five appearances before returning to Manchester United. He joined Aston Villa on loan again for the 2018–19 season.[15]

International career

Tuanzebe began his international career in June 2016, when he made his first appearance for England at under-19 level, against Mexico.[16] He was a member of the under-20 squad which won all three matches at the Four Nations tournament in October 2016.[17] Tuanzebe was withdrawn from selection for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup due to club commitments.[18]

On 10 November 2017, Tuanzebe made his debut for England under-21 against Ukraine.[19]

Style of play

Tuanzebe's preferred position is at centre-back, but he can also play as a right-back, and has featured as a holding midfielder.[20][21] His playing style has been compared to that of teammate Eric Bailly and Bayern Munich's Javi Martínez.[22] Tuanzebe's performance on his first-team debut in a friendly against Wigan Athletic in July 2016 led manager José Mourinho to remark, "10 minutes is enough! The potential is there, you see it immediately."[23]

Personal life

Tuanzebe was born in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] He attended St Cuthbert's Roman Catholic High School in Rochdale and captained the Year 7 football team to the final of the English National Schools Cup at Stamford Bridge in 2009, with a team that also included Connor Ronan and Johny Diba, both of whom went on to turn professional.[24] In the same year, he was awarded Sports Boy of the Year by the Mayor of Rochdale.[24] He also represented his school in cross-country and triple-jump.[24] He is the younger brother of ex-Clitheroe striker Dimitri Tuanzebe.[25]

In July 2018, he broke the Guinness World Record for fastest time to clear a game of Hungry Hungry Hippos.[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 6 October 2018[2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United 2015–16 Premier League 00000000—00
2016–17 Premier League 401000000050
2017–18 Premier League 1000101[lower-alpha 1]00030
2018–19 Premier League 00000000—00
Total 501010100080
Aston Villa (loan) 2017–18 Championship 500000——50
2018–19 Championship 900020——110
Career total 19010301000240
  1. ↑ Appearance in UEFA Champions League

Honours

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "A. Tuanzebe". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  3. ↑ Luckhurst, Samuel (29 January 2017). "Who is Axel Tuanzebe? Manchester United youngster in profile as he makes debut vs Wigan". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Axel Tuanzebe player profile page". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Bostock, Adam (19 May 2015). "Tuanzebe is United's Young Player of the Year". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  6. ↑ Magowan, Alistair (31 October 2015). "Crystal Palace 0–0 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  7. ↑ Marshall, Adam (31 October 2015). "Tuanzebe closer to realising his dream". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  8. ↑ "Manchester United 4–0 Wigan Athletic". BBC Sport. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  9. ↑ "Axel Tuanzebe signs new Manchester United contract". Sky Sports. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  10. ↑ Lovett, Samuel (8 May 2017). "Manchester United's Axel Tuanzebe 'chuffed' after making full debut and taking on Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez". The Independent. London. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  11. 1 2 Luckhurst, Samuel (18 May 2017). "Manchester United player Ander Herrera wins Player of the Year award". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  12. ↑ Pritchard, Dafydd (24 October 2017). "Swansea City 0–2 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  13. ↑ Shamoon, Hafez (5 December 2017). "Manchester United 2–1 CSKA Moscow". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  14. ↑ "Villa sign Man Utd defender Tuanzebe". BBC Sport. 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  15. ↑ Marshall, Adam (6 August 2018). "Tuanzebe heads back to Villa Park". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  16. ↑ Marshall, Adam (7 June 2016). "Tuanzebe primed for first international tournament with England". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  17. ↑ "England Under-20s win mini-tournament after 2–0 win over USA". The Football Association. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  18. ↑ "Man United's Axel Tuanzebe left out of England U20 World Cup squad". ESPN. 8 May 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  19. ↑ "Ukraine U21 0–2 England U21". BBC Sport. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  20. ↑ Ducker, James (9 May 2017). "Axel Tuanzebe out of England U-20 squad as Mourinho wants him to play more for Man Utd". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  21. ↑ Marshall, Adam (25 May 2017). "Axel Tuanzebe is coming of age at United". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  22. ↑ Tighe, Sam (14 September 2016). "Manchester United's Axel Tuanzebe Has Hallmarks of Eric Bailly and Javi Martinez". Bleacher Report. Turner. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  23. ↑ Bajkowski, Simon (16 July 2016). "Mourinho praises Manchester United youngster Tuanzebe for his EIGHT minutes against Wigan". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  24. 1 2 3 Luckhurst, Samuel (11 November 2015). "Manchester United youngster Axel Tuanzebe 'born for greatness'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
  25. ↑ Luckhurst, Samuel (29 January 2017). "Who is Axel Tuanzebe? Manchester United youngster in profile". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  26. ↑ Dunker, Charlotte (18 July 2018). "Axel Tuanzebe breaks bizarre Guinness World Record on Manchester United pre-season tour". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
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