Axel Tuanzebe

Axel Tuanzebe (born 14 November 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Manchester United.

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(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 38
Youth career
2005–2015 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– Manchester United 10 (0)
2018 → Aston Villa (loan) 5 (0)
2018–2019 → Aston Villa (loan) 25 (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 19:53, 7 December 2019 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 01:16, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

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]

Loans to Aston Villa

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 RC 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.[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 18 December 2019[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
2019–20 Premier League 5000203[lower-alpha 2]0—100
Total 10010304000180
Aston Villa (loan) 2017–18 Championship 500000—0050
2018–19 Championship 2500020—3[lower-alpha 3]0300
Total 3000020—30350
Career total 40010504030530
  1. Appearance in UEFA Champions League
  2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  3. Appearances in EFL Championship play-offs

Honours

Manchester United

Aston Villa

Individual

References
  1. "Squads for 2016/17 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 1 September 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  2. Axel Tuanzebe at Soccerway. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  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. "Axel Tuanzebe player profile page". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  5. 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. 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. "Manchester United 2–1 CSKA Moscow". BBC Sport. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  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". Manchester United F.C. 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. 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.
  27. McNulty, Phil (24 May 2017). "Ajax 0–2 Manchester United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
    "Ajax v Manchester United – UEFA Europa League Final". Getty Images. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  28. Woodcock, Ian (27 May 2019). "Aston Villa 2–1 Derby County". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
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