Manchester United’s young defender made his first senior start in Sunday’s defeat against Arsenal. After impressing fans and pundits alike, what does the future hold for United Reserves’ captain?
Prior to kick-off, some United fans must have been scratching their head while looking at the starting XI picked by Jose Mourinho. After all, the manager picked Tuanzebe – a youngster with only 23 minutes of first-team action under his belt – at the right-back position, going toe-to-toe with the chief danger man in Alexis Sanchez. Nevertheless, he put in an encouraging performance and by the full-time whistle, he emerged with his reputation enhanced. He kept Sanchez relatively quiet and despite his team losing, he never looked like the team’s weak point. Speaking to MUTV after the game, Mourinho had nothing but praises for the youngster’s performance:
"“[Tuanzebe was] very good, very solid. He did his work for years in the academy and he joined the first-team squad in January so he’s had January, February, March and April, four months working with us, adapting to a different reality. So I was sure that he was ready.”"
Teammate Juan Mata echoed similar sentiments, saying:
"“I think Axel did very good against Alexis, who is one of the best players in the Premier League. He defended very, very well. He’s an athletic guy, he’s quick and he’s good with the ball. So I’m very happy for him.”"
Mata’s comments pretty much sum up Tuanzebe’s strengths; strong, quick, and composed on the ball, all of which were evident on Sunday. His composure on the ball is arguably his most important asset, with the way he keeps his calm and never rushes a pass being a trait rarely found in young players, especially defenders. Sanchez could probably give a testament to his athleticism, having seen the young player burst past him in the 19th minute of the game and having been brushed off the ball by the same player a couple more times than he would have liked. One area of Tuanzebe’s game which is yet to be seen at the highest level is his leadership quality. Former United youth coach Paul McGuinness picked him as the Under-18s’ captain while he was a first-year scholar and he was trusted with the same responsibility after making the step up to Warren Joyce’s Reserves side. The player himself has admitted that he enjoyed the added responsibility of being made captain – “I like bossing people around,” he was quoted as saying.
Based on Sunday’s evidence, it is clear that Tuanzebe has all of the necessary ingredients to be a future Manchester United star. Seeing the player’s seamless transitions up to the highest level, however, it would not be a stretch to suggest that we are seeing a future United captain in the making.