Manchester United have made a glorious start to their league season and there are genuine hopes that they could challenge for the Premier League title this season. While the performances have not been spectacular, the results have been as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side has found a way to come out with a win time after time over the past few months.
Their last league defeat was back in early November, against Arsenal. And while many might consider this to be just a purple patch, one which will fade away as the season enters its business end, the progress that this side has made is undeniable.
One man who has been at the heart of this progress is Harry Maguire. Questions have been asked about the Manchester United captain ever since he arrived in a £80 million deal from Leicester City a couple of summers ago.
The defence has been impressive over the past few months, at least against the ‘smaller’ clubs, which is a huge reason why they have been able to grind out results. And if United do somehow manage to win the league come the end of the season, Maguire will go down as the man who led them back to the top of English football.
Axel Tuanzebe might be a future Manchester United captain
Of course, it has been a joint effort and Maguire recognises the efforts of those around him, like every good captain should.
He has named one surprise name in the form of Axel Tuanzebe, in terms of being a leader and tipped him to go on and have an unbelievable career. As reported by The Mirror, the Manchester United captain said:
"“We have a lot of leaders in the dressing room, a lot of senior pros. And you don’t have to be a senior pro to be a leader.“Axel [Tuanzebe] is a leader, in the ways that he works and speaks in the dressing room. And he’s only a young boy, he’s still learning his trade – I’m sure he’ll go on to have an unbelievable career.”"
Tuanzebe’s leadership abilities are not unknown though. In fact, he had been handed the armband by Solskjaer last season, in a Carabao Cup game against Rochdale. Following the game, the manager had said:
"“Axel is a captain in the making, he’s a leader – why not give it to young kids?“How does he handle it? He was absolutely fine, he enjoyed it. It’s just a way of telling him that we trust him.”"
While the defender might not be a regular first-team starter at the moment, he has shown in the win against Paris Saint-Germain earlier in the season, that he has all the minerals to be a huge success at Old Trafford. His time will come.