Erik ten Hag is yet to address the situation but it is becoming increasingly apparent that Harry Maguire's days as Manchester United captain are numbered.
The central defender held off competition from Cristiano Ronaldo to keep the armband last season, despite many in the squad questioning his place within the team. Ten Hag has since transitioned Maguire out of the starting picture, with Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and even Luke Shaw ahead of him in the pecking order.
However, the United boss opted to keep the England centre-back as club captain, possibly in a bid to not rock the boat too hard during his formative days in charge. When it comes to matches, Bruno Fernandes is the man most often named United skipper, with the Portuguese essentially taking on the captaincy without an official appointment.
It was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who initially gave Maguire the armband, promoting him less than six months after his £80million transfer from Leicester. But three months prior to that, Solskjaer had given another defender his seal of approval as a potential United captain of the future.
Axel Tuanzebe was named as the Red Devils’ youngest skipper in almost 35 years when he was given the honour during a Carabao Cup tie against Rochdale. That was the latest development for a player that Solskjaer was confident would go all the way with United.
Who should be Manchester United's next captain? Have your say in the comments!
"Axel is a captain in the making, he's a leader. Why not give it to young kids?" Solskjaer asked talkSPORT of the United captaincy. "How does he handle it? He was absolutely fine, he enjoyed it. It’s just a way of telling him that we trust him."
Speaking after Tuanzebe's brilliant display versus Paris Saint-Germain 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.”
Maguire agreed with that sentiment, telling the UTD Podcast: "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 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."
Despite Solskjaer and Maguire's emphatic backing, a combination of injuries and unfulfilled potential means that Tuanzebe looks destined to leave Manchester United in a matter of months. The 25-year-old’s contract is up at the end of the season and unless there is a dramatic turnaround, he will be allowed to complete a free transfer away.
It’s been almost two years since his last United appearance, coming in the Europa League final loss to Villarreal in 2021. Tuanzebe’s last game for any club came at the start of January 2022 - one of two appearances in a wildly unsuccessful loan spell with Napoli.
While Tuanzebe is yet to play under Ten Hag, the United academy graduate returned to training earlier this week. However, any prospect of an immediate return to the squad has been rejected by the United boss, who is willing to be patient to get Tuanzebe back to full speed.
"They are not available yet for games but they are progressing," Ten Hag said of his returning players. "Definitely Axel, it was a long time that he was not available for matches or for training.
“Individual rehab was really hard for him. Then, you can understand, it takes time. Back in training as well and in team training, then you have to build up. So that will take weeks."
