Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe has rejoined Aston Villa on a season-long loan deal, as officially confirmed by both clubs
Manchester United and Aston Villa have officially confirmed reaching an agreement over a loan deal for Axel Tuanzebe for the 2018-19 season. The 20-year-old had temporarily spent the second half of the 2017-18 season at Villa Park as well, and is set to begin his second spell with the Championship club.
Tuanzebe has been one of the most exciting prospects at Manchester United for several years now, with the academy coaches speaking in glowing terms about the young defender. The 20-year-old made his first-team debut for the Red Devils last year, in a 4-0 FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic.
Since then, he has made seven more appearances for Manchester United, where Jose Mourinho also rates him very highly. But, with the manager’s central defensive options stacked, Tuanzebe has found it hard to establish himself as a regular starter.
✍️⚽️ Breaking news: @AxelTuanzebe_38 has rejoined us on a season-long loan deal from @ManUtd
Welcome back, Axel ?#PartOfThePride #AVFC pic.twitter.com/caBiDuDnjB
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) August 6, 2018
With Manchester United looking set to sign another centre-back this summer, it would have been detrimental to his progress to remain at Old Trafford. considering he would have essentially been fifth-choice. With that in mind, the player has been sent on another loan spell, with Aston Villa snapping him up once again.
The Villans had also loaned him for the second half of the 2018-19 season. However, injuries ended up playing spoilsport in addition to John Terry and James Chester being the first-choice central defensive partnership for Steve Bruce.
However, with John Terry departing from Villa Park this summer, the Manchester United academy graduate could have the chance to establish himself as a regular starter. Tuanzebe will still have to rival Micah Richards and Tommy Elphick for the starting slot. But, the defender is elated to be back for now, as he talked to Aston Villa’s official website upon completing the move.
“It’s great to be back. This is a big, big club and to represent it again is a big honour for me. It made perfect sense for me to return for the season ahead. I know my way around the place now and owe a lot to the great people who’ve really looked after me.It was a no-brainer and now the ambition remains the same as last season – to reach the Premier League.”
The 20-year-old is the fifth Manchester United player to be loaned out this summer. Tuanzebe will now hope to feature regularly for Aston Villa, which would eventually boost his chances of returning to Old Trafford in much better shape at the end of the 2018-19 season.
