Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believed that Axel Tuanzebe – who will leave Manchester United this summer – would be a future captain at Old Trafford.
Tuanzebe will leave United at the end of the campaign following the expiration of his contract. The 25-year-old spent the second half of the season on loan at Stoke City, but made just five appearances for the Championship club.
The defender captained United across multiple youth teams and was regarded as a future first-team player at Old Trafford from an early age. Tuanzebe has played 37 matches for the Red Devils and became the club's youngest-ever captain in an EFL Cup clash in 2019.
However, he has had multiple loan exits and failed to establish himself in the first-team squad at United. He had three separate stints at Aston Villa while also having a short-lived stint at Napoli last season, where he made just two appearances.
There is still plenty of time left for the former England Under-21 international to fulfil his potential elsewhere but he will not reach the heights at United that many had predicted, including his former boss Solskjaer. The Norwegian was present at Old Trafford for Saturday's two-goal win over Wolves, his first return to the stadium since his dismissal from the club in November 2021.
"Axel is a captain in the making, he's a leader. Why not give it to young kids?" Solskjaer explained of the United captaincy after his decision. "How does he handle it? He was absolutely fine, he enjoyed it. It’s just a way of telling him that we trust him."
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Speaking after Tuanzebe's brilliant display versus Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League group stage in October 2020, he added: "I'm pleased for him. Now, it's about getting consistency in his performances, he's got to stay injury-free but I think he can kick on, he's a leader.
"He can play right-back, centre-back, midfield. He's a boy who takes responsibility for his own development and he's doing everything he can to have a long career at United and get that consistency."
Tuanzebe’s last competitive appearance for United came almost two years ago - when he made a four-minute cameo as a substitute in the agonising penalty shootout defeat to Villareal in the Europa League final.
Stoke are reported to be weighing up a permanent move to sign Tuanzebe – who will be joined by Phil Jones as leaving United as a free agent at the end of the campaign – this summer, offering him the chance to rebuild a career which once looked to heading in a very different direction.
