I remember he played RB for us at the tail-end of 2 seasons ago against Arsenal, and there was a scene when Sanchez tried to barge into him while chasing after a loose ball and bounced off young Axel like he was a rock-wall. Should have seen the signs then that 1)Axel was going to be class and 2)Alexis was NOT going to be class
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I don’t think he was ready. He’s had time to develop consistency. Throwing a CB in as green as he was would have been crazy, and could’ve done more harm than good.
Koulibaly and Tuanzebe next season please!
He looks pretty huge in that video, fast too, plus he can play ball. Could be a very good partner for Lindelof next season. Probably just be third or fourth choice though.
3rd or 4th is good enough for me, especially if we bring in someone like Koulibaly. We can then sell Jones and/or Bailly, along with Rojo.
Most fans are sick of seeing Jones and Smalling, so it would be great if Tuanzebe could take the place of one of them and be the 3rd choice CB.
His passing looked well positive in that video. Seems to play at a quick pace too. Quicker than Smalling, for example.
I think he has a place in the squad next season. I'd rather see him in the side, make a few mistakes, and learn from them than to see the same old shite from our supposed senior center backs.
The likes of Smalling and Jones didnt learn and dint improve at all. They are still on the same level as 5 years ago. Same for Rojo and Bailly, no improvement happening. Lindelöf improved, the rest are on the same level or regressed for years. Tired of it.
Thanks. Looks like he had a decent performance. I liked how his teammates seemed to keep him on his toes. If our situation wasn't so fecked I wouldn't be opposed to another season with Aston Villa, especially if they move up to the PL.
Axel isn't much of a striker 
but his pace and power is pretty good!
but his pace and power is pretty good!Decision to be made in the summer whether he'll be served best as a rotational player here or starting every week in the PL. Regardless of how well he's done in the Championship, the PL is a big step up and he's not better than Smalling and Lindelof yet plus we'll likely bring in another CB.
Jose said he rated him but went on moaning about not being allowed to get a defender and not giving him a chance. If Ole sticks by his word about this club giving a chance to young players, Axel is probably the one, more so than Garner, Chong and Mason
Never should've gone out on loan. If he was afforded the time and patience Mourinho gave to Lindelof for 18 months, then we would've not only saved £30m but also had a better CB right now.
de Ligt + Tuanzebe next 15 years please.
The stuff of dreams.
Maybe because Axel needed to play every week and the loan actually helped him.
Strange conclusion. The loan seems to be exactly what he needed. He wasn’t ready for the first team 18 months ago, he might have got a couple of games for us. Now it looks like he’s ready to be a squad player. It’s worked out well.
Lindelof is great, I'm glad we've got him, Axel has just gone away and used his loan to improve, which was the whole point, now he can come back and genuinely be a looked at as a starter, and we have Lindelof.
It worked out exactly as I predicted. If there was a Koulibaly incoming then I could understand the loan. But signing Lindelof who wasn't ready to step into the fray and was also green didn't make much sense.
Yeah but Tuanzebe is an academy product and wasnt bought for 30m, it was easier for Jose to ignore him instead of the CB he handpicked from Portugal. I agree that we could have just given Tuanzebe the patience and playing time, he would have come good here anyway. He was good enough from the start, just needed pateince, confidence and playing time.
Feel pretty good about CB if we sign a leader to partner Lindelof with Tuanzebe and Smalling in reserve. Sell Jones to a mid-table side for too much money and Rojo to Italy or Spain for too little.
Exactly.. Mourinho was never gonna give Tuanzebe the chance over what his personal scouts had recommended and that for €30m.
I even said at the time Tuanzebe was better than Lindelof when I discussed this with @Kag . He said the exact same thing what you said regarding Mourinho preferring his £30m CB. You were both correct.
Haven't read the entire thread so, is he back here next season or staying on at Villa?
So disciplined and composed on the ball. So nice to see. He’s gonna be a player.
If we don’t sell at least two senior CB’s and promote him next season we’re doing it wrong.
Jose rated him the same way I rate cheese on a sandwich, it’s alright but it’s not my favourite topping.
That's the thing with loans, when they turn out to be successful people just moan they were unnecessary.
Nothing in that video that Smalling / Bailly (or any other decent PL center back) cannot do, so I don't understand the composed / disciplined comments. Composed / disciplined relative to what? His age group?
He showed good pace sometimes and maybe he's ready to start playing in the PL, but a promising young player getting hyped as far as I'm concerned. I guess he deserves some bench time if he's back here and maybe rotation in the cup games but that's it.
He showed good pace sometimes and maybe he's ready to start playing in the PL, but a promising young player getting hyped as far as I'm concerned. I guess he deserves some bench time if he's back here and maybe rotation in the cup games but that's it.
From Villa talk
When is Smalling ever composed on the ball??
Get rid of Jones and Rojo and bring Axel back. It’s a no-brainer for me.
I'd take him over Jones, even though he would likely make mistakes we have a player who has the capability to grow.
Jones and Smalling to an extent are fringe players that offer no development in solving our defensive crisis. While Smalling is a more tidy defender he's not suited to a team who prize possession, this is why he's not even had a sniff under Southgate.
If we had a defender who was competent on the ball it provides confidence in the back four / midfield. De Gea would never have made that pass to Fred and conceded a goal if we had a good distributor, opposition would be more conscious to press from the front because of the spaces that can be exploited, we would finally be able to play through the pressure of a press, diagonal pings into the wide areas (David Luiz / Matip very competent in this transition), it gives us so much more dynamic play in attack.
Instead you have the likes of West Ham, Southampton, Everton, Watford give us intense fixtures because they can commit men forward with little risk attached if they are dispossessed, the same gets done against Pool / City and your looking at the 4/5 - 0's . Solskjaer needs to get ruthless with the centre halves next season before he gets my optimism.
Jones and Smalling to an extent are fringe players that offer no development in solving our defensive crisis. While Smalling is a more tidy defender he's not suited to a team who prize possession, this is why he's not even had a sniff under Southgate.
If we had a defender who was competent on the ball it provides confidence in the back four / midfield. De Gea would never have made that pass to Fred and conceded a goal if we had a good distributor, opposition would be more conscious to press from the front because of the spaces that can be exploited, we would finally be able to play through the pressure of a press, diagonal pings into the wide areas (David Luiz / Matip very competent in this transition), it gives us so much more dynamic play in attack.
Instead you have the likes of West Ham, Southampton, Everton, Watford give us intense fixtures because they can commit men forward with little risk attached if they are dispossessed, the same gets done against Pool / City and your looking at the 4/5 - 0's . Solskjaer needs to get ruthless with the centre halves next season before he gets my optimism.
I said almost two years ago it was unnecessary. So not sure who your post is aimed at.
I have no issues with him getting loaned out than sitting on the bench here. I hope he gets another loan next season to the PL if we dont plan on giving him regular game time. I just feel he would possibly ask for a permanent move then. Dont know why the likes of Jones, Smalling, Bailly and Rojo should be the guys taking us out of the mess when we are in it partly because of them, for years and under different managers as well.
Let him come back. No more loans.
Our CBs lack composure, and here we have Axel with the quality we're missing. Yes he'll make mistakes but I'd rather persevere with him than giving Jones etc more chances - they've had enough and haven't improved. Time for a change.
Our CBs lack composure, and here we have Axel with the quality we're missing. Yes he'll make mistakes but I'd rather persevere with him than giving Jones etc more chances - they've had enough and haven't improved. Time for a change.
That would be the best scenario.
Watch the Swansea league cup tie last season. Both Lindelof and Axel played and if you hadn't seen the two previously, you'd have thought Axel was the big money signing and Lindelof was the kid fresh out of the academy. The difference between the two was that stark.
Is his injury record not a concern? We can’t have yet another ever-crippled CB to add to the squad.
Havn't seen his entire injury record but he was out for a while with an ankle injury. Apart from that I don't think he's had any problems this year.
He should get an opportunity. He can't be any worse than who are playing now.
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