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2021-22 Performances


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MyOnlySolskjaer

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Full Name: Axel Tuanzebe
Date of Birth: Nov 14, 1997 (23)
Nationality: England

Other Nationalities: DR Congo

Height: 184 cm
Position: Defender - Centre-Back
Foot: Right
Player Agent: Unique Sports Management
Squad Number: #38
Joined: Jan 1, 2014
Contract until: Jun 30, 2022
Contract option: Option for a further year
Date of last contract extension: Jul 5, 2019

 

Minkaro

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Gotta be a PL loan and then it’s all up to him. I think he’s a PL standard defender but at his age he needs to fully show us or other clubs what he’s capable of week in week out.
Agreed. He’s shown that he has the potential, but needs the opportunity to prove it on a regular basis.
 

Nickosaur

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Heard Newcastle have been sniffing.
Could Brighton be an option if Ben White goes to Arsenal? They have Veltman who has covered there plenty in the back 3 though.
 

Rozay

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Should have been sold two years ago soon as he came back from Villa.
 

Minkaro

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I don’t like this holding onto kids until their mid 20s and barely playing them. It makes no sense for either party.
23 is still young. Being optimistic, the loan could go amazingly, and we get a talented 23-24 year old back for next season to challenge the Maguire-Varane partnership. Being less optimistic, we sell him to the loaning club for a decent fee.

or he’s rubbish and released on a free next summer.
 

Gandalf

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To loan him out is so stupid.

He will have here zero future if Varane comes.

Sell him for 8-10m.

I think with Axel and a number of other players the thinking behind a loan rather than a permanent transfer is that a lot of the smaller clubs have nothing to spend due to the COVID impacts of last season. It is hoped that with a full season of gate receipts etc. there will be a more robust transfer market next summer and they can sell them for a lot more at that point.
 

Sean_RedDevil

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I think with Axel and a number of other players the thinking behind a loan rather than a permanent transfer is that a lot of the smaller clubs have nothing to spend due to the COVID impacts of last season. It is hoped that with a full season of gate receipts etc. there will be a more robust transfer market next summer and they can sell them for a lot more at that point.
I totally understand that.

But we must sell players to make more signings.

We should not ask stupid money like 20m for Pereira or 30m for Lingard.

Lingard for 15
Tuanzebe 8-10
Pereira 5
Dalot 10-15
James 15-20
De Gea or Henderson must go.

Most clubs have the money for this players.
 

Andycoleno9

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One of best defenders that we had (until he started to play for us).
Kidding aside; loan is great option. Because he showed some great qualities but also some huge flaws. So after next season we will know is he United material or not.
 

SAFMUTD

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Will be 24 before mid season, with us looking for a new CB he'll be relegated to 4th option at best. We should sell him including a buy back clause if by any chance he actually turns up good eventually.
 

Ekeke

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Play him as 3rd choice behind Maguire and Varane/other new CB or sell him for a bit cheaper with a buy back option in case he can stay fit and play well for another club for the next couple of seasons. Then we could take another look at him at that point.

With his pace I think he'd actually do very well this season as Varane's backup and learning from him if that one happens.
 

Andycoleno9

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Play him as 3rd choice behind Maguire and Varane/other new CB or sell him for a bit cheaper with a buy back option in case he can stay fit and play well for another club for the next couple of seasons. Then we could take another look at him at that point.

With his pace I think he'd actually do very well this season as Varane's backup and learning from him if that one happens.
Based on what? For two years i read here how he is better than Lindelof and Bailly. Last year, before he even played few games, there was opinion how he is long term Maguire's partner.

So far he is 23y old defender who had only few good games for us.
 

A-man

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I totally understand that.

But we must sell players to make more signings.

We should not ask stupid money like 20m for Pereira or 30m for Lingard.

Lingard for 15
Tuanzebe 8-10
Pereira 5
Dalot 10-15
James 15-20
De Gea or Henderson must go.

Most clubs have the money for this players.
The problem is we pay our players so much that the lower table clubs nor Italian clubs etc can match that. Who could match DDG’s wages?
 

A-man

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Axel is in a difficult position. He is turning 24 this year and has played very little high level football. His best season in that aspect was playing half the games one season in the Championship. He needs matches more than anybody. From his career’s POV he should leave. I like the guy but he hasn’t really taken the opportunities given.
 
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Dan_F

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He simply has to go on loan to get a full season of football at Premier League level. Although I think he’ll find it hard to get a club to take a chance on him as first choice.

In all honesty, I think we’ve harmed him a little by not doing this straight after his loan at Villa, although he’s not been fit anywhere near enough.
 

NicolaSacco

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He simply has to go on loan to get a full season of football at Premier League level. Although I think he’ll find it hard to get a club to take a chance on him as first choice.

In all honesty, I think we’ve harmed him a little by not doing this straight after his loan at Villa, although he’s not been fit anywhere near enough.
He’s exactly the kind of player who needs a 40 game season under his belt. It wouldn’t surprise me if It’s sell him then he spends a couple of seasons on loan at eg Palce and then is suddenly snapped up by a top 6 club.
Crazy that Tuanzebe has played 19 league games for Utd and Rashford 179 despite being the same age.
 

A-man

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True

But then players like Tuanzebe should shut up if they want to play more football.
I don’t know his wages but his focus should be minutes on the pitch. But the risk is he would be third-fourth choice at any PL club.
 

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I don’t know his wages but his focus should be minutes on the pitch. But the risk is he would be third-fourth choice at any PL club.
I rate Tuanzebe and i think he could have a good career in the PL.

But yep "his focus should be minutes on the pitch" and then you must earn maybe just 50% of your current wage at your new club.
 

bosnian_red

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He's wasting his career away if he stays at the club. He needs games, regardless of the potential he's getting too old to have played so little over his career. Mourinho loves him, send him to Roma to partner Smalling. Buy back clause is ideal but realistically I don't see him ever doing much at United.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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He needs to follow what Tomori is doing and we should sell him now. It's not good for his development to just sit on the bench. He's currently behind Maguire, Lindelof, and Bailly in manager's pecking order and very likely even further behind if we sign Varane.
 

#07

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The Axel that went to Paris last autumn never came back. Lord knows I would love him to make it at United but he doesn't look likely. He's been on loan at Villa. What will another loan tell us? If he ain't got it then he's gotta go.
 

11101

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He's not going to make it here is he. I've been skeptical ever since that Arsenal game but he's 24 now and still plays like an 18 year old. Selling him would be best for both parties, he needs games and he's not going to get them here.
 

Zoo

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The Axel that went to Paris last autumn never came back. Lord knows I would love him to make it at United but he doesn't look likely. He's been on loan at Villa. What will another loan tell us? If he ain't got it then he's gotta go.
The Axel that went to Paris had a specialist role in a back 3. As a conventional CB he is found wanting on the fundamentals which is hugely worrying. He’ll do well to make it as a Premier League CB.
 

SinNombre

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He's not going to make it here is he. I've been skeptical ever since that Arsenal game but he's 24 now and still plays like an 18 year old. Selling him would be best for both parties, he needs games and he's not going to get them here.
We should have sold him for 15m last summer to Villa.

This is the difference between us and Liverpool, they don't hold on to academy products for emotional reasons.
 

Bastian

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We should have sold him for 15m last summer to Villa.

This is the difference between us and Liverpool, they don't hold on to academy products for emotional reasons.
It's not emotional, he was ahead of Bailly in the pecking order before his injury issues started up again. That was the start of the 2019-2020 season. Had an absolute mare with injuries that season and only really returned last season. Did great against PSG as people here mention, but I disagree with those saying he failed to make the step up subsequently. He wasn't really given the chance. Hopefully he'll stay fit throughout this season and gets regular games for a decent team on loan. If he does great he's back within a shout, but he needs to keep developing.
 

SAFMUTD

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If he was on another team there's not one person that would ask us to sign him, at 24 that should tell us that it's time to move on from him before he becomes unsellable.
 

Rozay

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It's not emotional, he was ahead of Bailly in the pecking order before his injury issues started up again. That was the start of the 2019-2020 season. Had an absolute mare with injuries that season and only really returned last season. Did great against PSG as people here mention, but I disagree with those saying he failed to make the step up subsequently. He wasn't really given the chance. Hopefully he'll stay fit throughout this season and gets regular games for a decent team on loan. If he does great he's back within a shout, but he needs to keep developing.
He was disastrous every time he got onto the pitch after that, and cost us points in almost every appearance.
 

kode

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Apart from his game against PSG , he has never been good , he needs to go on loan get games and we shall see if he can make it here , at this stage he doenst look a united player, he doesnt regularly play which can be a mitigation factor though
 

GMoore23

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I think there is still a player in there. His problem is that he has been injury plagued during his most important years for development. He needs to go on loan to a team willing to start him every game and he needs to stay fit otherwise, his career at United is over.
 

Gopher Brown

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I seem to be going out on a limb here, but every time I’ve seen him in a proper game he has impressed me. He’s quick, strong and comfortable on the ball. I’d rather have him in the team than Bailly any day.
 

Bastian

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He was disastrous every time he got onto the pitch after that, and cost us points in almost every appearance.
We played PSG (20th of October). It was his first appearance of the season as he came into the season carrying an ankle injury. After that match he came on to play 9 minutes as a right back against Leipzig (28th of October) at home. He then played the first half against Basaksehir (4th of November) at centre back before being subbed off at half time*. A few days later he played his first match in the league away against Everton (7th of November) , coming on at left back for an injured Shaw (23mins). He did not play again in the league until Christmas coming on for 24mins at right back away at Leicester (26th of December), having just played a few days earlier in the EFL Cup against Everton (23rd of December) starting at right back and playing 90mins.

In the meantime he had come on as a sub at half time against Basaksehir (24th of November) at home, playing 45mins at centre back, and he came on for 12mins against Leipzig (8th of December) away, playing as a centre back.

So prior to the turn of the year he played a total of 8 matches, of which he started 3, playing a total of 338 minutes.

He then played the following games:

1.1 Villa at home, sub appearance, played 1min , CB.
9.1 Watford at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.
12.1 Burnley away, sub appearance, played 1min, CB.
27.1 Sheffield at home, starter, played 83mins, CB.
6.2 Everton at home, sub appearance, played 1min, CB.
25.2 Real Sociedad at home, sub appearance, played 45mins, DM.
15.4 Granada at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.
11.5 Leicester at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
18.5 Fulham at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
23.5 Wolves away, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
26.5 Villareal, sub appearance, played 4mins, CB.**


All in all, 9 starts, 19 appearances, 918 minutes played.
Out of those 19 appearances, 13 are at centre back, 3 at right back, one at left back, one as defensive midfielder (and one appearance being too late to call his position).

Out of those 13 scattered appearances at centre back he had 90mins in the FA Cup, in a 1-0 win against Watford. 6 of those were in the league, (two 1min appearances) 3 of which were next to Lindelof after Maguire got injured and we did our usual end-of-season implosion, while he had managed to start alongside Maguire against Sheffield in that home loss after declaring we were definitely not title challengers. He had two centre back appearances in the Europa League, one as a starter at home against Granada (2-0 win) playing the whole match, and then coming on in the loss to Villareal for 4minutes. He started 3 times in the CL at centre back (PSG away, Basaksehir away and home, and coming on for 12 mins at centre back against Leipzig.

*worth noting that was the nadir of the season then with a diabolical collective performance - possibly surpassed by tactical cowardice away at Leipzig, or managerial naivity at home to PSG
**also worth noting that’s when Maguire is injured, so he’s playing alongside Lindelof.

He wasn’t given a proper chance last season.
 

11101

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We played PSG (20th of October). It was his first appearance of the season as he came into the season carrying an ankle injury. After that match he came on to play 9 minutes as a right back against Leipzig (28th of October) at home. He then played the first half against Basaksehir (4th of November) at centre back before being subbed off at half time*. A few days later he played his first match in the league away against Everton (7th of November) , coming on at left back for an injured Shaw (23mins). He did not play again in the league until Christmas coming on for 24mins at right back away at Leicester (26th of December), having just played a few days earlier in the EFL Cup against Everton (23rd of December) starting at right back and playing 90mins.

In the meantime he had come on as a sub at half time against Basaksehir (24th of November) at home, playing 45mins at centre back, and he came on for 12mins against Leipzig (8th of December) away, playing as a centre back.

So prior to the turn of the year he played a total of 8 matches, of which he started 3, playing a total of 338 minutes.

He then played the following games:

1.1 Villa at home, sub appearance, played 1min , CB.
9.1 Watford at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.
12.1 Burnley away, sub appearance, played 1min, CB.
27.1 Sheffield at home, starter, played 83mins, CB.
6.2 Everton at home, sub appearance, played 1min, CB.
25.2 Real Sociedad at home, sub appearance, played 45mins, DM.
15.4 Granada at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.
11.5 Leicester at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
18.5 Fulham at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
23.5 Wolves away, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
26.5 Villareal, sub appearance, played 4mins, CB.**


All in all, 9 starts, 19 appearances, 918 minutes played.
Out of those 19 appearances, 13 are at centre back, 3 at right back, one at left back, one as defensive midfielder (and one appearance being too late to call his position).

Out of those 13 scattered appearances at centre back he had 90mins in the FA Cup, in a 1-0 win against Watford. 6 of those were in the league, (two 1min appearances) 3 of which were next to Lindelof after Maguire got injured and we did our usual end-of-season implosion, while he had managed to start alongside Maguire against Sheffield in that home loss after declaring we were definitely not title challengers. He had two centre back appearances in the Europa League, one as a starter at home against Granada (2-0 win) playing the whole match, and then coming on in the loss to Villareal for 4minutes. He started 3 times in the CL at centre back (PSG away, Basaksehir away and home, and coming on for 12 mins at centre back against Leipzig.

*worth noting that was the nadir of the season then with a diabolical collective performance - possibly surpassed by tactical cowardice away at Leipzig, or managerial naivity at home to PSG
**also worth noting that’s when Maguire is injured, so he’s playing alongside Lindelof.

He wasn’t given a proper chance last season.
Sorry but 19 appearances is more than enough to make a good impression and more than most players who made it would need.
 

A-man

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We played PSG (20th of October). It was his first appearance of the season as he came into the season carrying an ankle injury. After that match he came on to play 9 minutes as a right back against Leipzig (28th of October) at home. He then played the first half against Basaksehir (4th of November) at centre back before being subbed off at half time*. A few days later he played his first match in the league away against Everton (7th of November) , coming on at left back for an injured Shaw (23mins). He did not play again in the league until Christmas coming on for 24mins at right back away at Leicester (26th of December), having just played a few days earlier in the EFL Cup against Everton (23rd of December) starting at right back and playing 90mins.

In the meantime he had come on as a sub at half time against Basaksehir (24th of November) at home, playing 45mins at centre back, and he came on for 12mins against Leipzig (8th of December) away, playing as a centre back.

So prior to the turn of the year he played a total of 8 matches, of which he started 3, playing a total of 338 minutes.

He then played the following games:

1.1 Villa at home, sub appearance, played 1min , CB.
9.1 Watford at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.
12.1 Burnley away, sub appearance, played 1min, CB.
27.1 Sheffield at home, starter, played 83mins, CB.
6.2 Everton at home, sub appearance, played 1min, CB.
25.2 Real Sociedad at home, sub appearance, played 45mins, DM.
15.4 Granada at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.
11.5 Leicester at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
18.5 Fulham at home, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
23.5 Wolves away, starter, played the 90mins, CB.**
26.5 Villareal, sub appearance, played 4mins, CB.**


All in all, 9 starts, 19 appearances, 918 minutes played.
Out of those 19 appearances, 13 are at centre back, 3 at right back, one at left back, one as defensive midfielder (and one appearance being too late to call his position).

Out of those 13 scattered appearances at centre back he had 90mins in the FA Cup, in a 1-0 win against Watford. 6 of those were in the league, (two 1min appearances) 3 of which were next to Lindelof after Maguire got injured and we did our usual end-of-season implosion, while he had managed to start alongside Maguire against Sheffield in that home loss after declaring we were definitely not title challengers. He had two centre back appearances in the Europa League, one as a starter at home against Granada (2-0 win) playing the whole match, and then coming on in the loss to Villareal for 4minutes. He started 3 times in the CL at centre back (PSG away, Basaksehir away and home, and coming on for 12 mins at centre back against Leipzig.

*worth noting that was the nadir of the season then with a diabolical collective performance - possibly surpassed by tactical cowardice away at Leipzig, or managerial naivity at home to PSG
**also worth noting that’s when Maguire is injured, so he’s playing alongside Lindelof.

He wasn’t given a proper chance last season.
If you are fourth choice, that is what you get and maybe it would have been smarter to send him on a loan. I also think the poor performance in Istanbul cost him a lot. He was taken off because he was in too deep water and after that, Ole seemed to have lost some of his faith in him.

In the end, he has never been given a proper run of games. But to get that proper run, he must deserve it by grasping the opportunities he get. Like he did in Paris. But again and again.
 

Bastian

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Sorry but 19 appearances is more than enough to make a good impression and more than most players who made it would need.
Look at that again. You need a run of games. In one position. Settled. Not playing 4 different positions and normally only coming on to replace an injured player or when we're parking the bus in the dying minutes.

If you are fourth choice, that is what you get and maybe it would have been smarter to send him on a loan. I also think the poor performance in Istanbul cost him a lot. He was taken off because he was in too deep water and after that, Ole seemed to have lost some of his faith in him.

In the end, he has never been given a proper run of games. But to get that proper run, he must deserve it by grasping the opportunities he get. Like he did in Paris. But again and again.
Like I said earlier, at the start of the 2019-2020 season he looked like he had moved in front of Bailly and Jones, was being hyped up by Ole and expectations were high. Then injured pretty much the whole season. Once he got fit again, you'd have expected him to get a proper chance, but that's quite tricky if Ole has completely settled on Lindelof and Maguire. Of course, for a player his age, lacking that experience he absolutely has to play to develop.

That performance in Istanbul is not on any one player. That would be extremely harsh. The whole team played like an amateur side (which is not being harsh). I think it's fair to say that Ole has been quite conservative and frequently under (at least externally) pressure, so he's played safe pretty much always. That's afforded a lot less game time to Tuanzebe, with really only Greenwood getting minutes as a youngster, whereas Williams got in through having no left back to field when Shaw was injured and Rojo presumably injured as well. I don't say this to bash Ole, just to say that Tuanzebe has not been given enough of a chance for him to be adequately judged on here. That seems completely obvious to me.

edit: I'd also add that for a young centre back to get game time, he needs to be playing alongside an experienced centre back who guides him. That most definitely is not Lindelof, and it is even less Bailly. Of his 6 starts as a centre back he played in a back 3 without Maguire in Paris, next to Maguire against Basaksehir away, next to Lindelof at home to Granada, next to Maguire against Sheffield, next to Bailly against Leicester and against Watford. He had two starts in a back 4 with Maguire last season (Sheffield and Basaksehir) but that sample size is tiny and take a better look at the lineup against Basaksehir:

--------------Henderson
Shaw-Tuanzebe-Maguire-AWB
-----------Matic--------VDB
Mata---------Bruno-------Rashford
----------------Martial

Pretty shoddy midfield and if you look at the two goals conceded the first was from our corner, having a left back take the corner and AWB way up there too, with rapidly-ageing Matic as the last line of defense. The second goal is pretty much a collective defensive collapse.

Against Sheffield United:

---------------Henderson
AWB--Tuanzebe--Maguire--Telles
------------Matic------Pogba
Greenwood--Bruno----Rashford
-----------------Martial

The first goal conceded (from a corner) can be attributed to Tuanzebe not winning a header, but if you analyse it, Telles steps in front of him at the last minute as if challenging for the ball, Tuanzebe backtracks to get a head on the ball as Bryan who was marking Henderson beats him to it. Looks like that's zonal marking there. The second goal which was a collective defensive collapse has one free player in our box with AWB, Telles, Bruno and Tuanzebe all culpable.

For him to be given a chance, in my view, would be to get 5-6 games on the trot next to Maguire. At least. People kept talking about Henderson needing chances to prove himself. Well, he got plenty. Had some not so good games, and some good games. And that's an even more precarious position.
 
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