A bit about him
After weeks of speculation of an incoming CB, Ipswich have finally announced the temporary signing of Axel Tuanzebe on a trial period over the international break. He had previously been on trial with Luton Town earlier in the summer. Axel is a right footed CB.
Axel stands tall at 6ft 1 and is 25 years old, which is the perfect age. A couple of fun facts about him: firstly he represented his school in both cross country and triple jump. Secondly and even more impressively he boasts the Guinness World Record for the quickest time to individually clear a game of Hungry Hippos which he achieved in July 2018 whilst on tour with Man Utd – just incredible.
Where he fits in
Axel’s best position is RCB and he also has experience playing RB and at CDM. If he signs, he will be ahead of George Edmundson in the pecking order and will provide serious competition to the imperious Luke Woolfenden.
Strengths as a player
Axel is well known for his pace, strength and athleticism as well as being comfortable on the ball. Physically, Axel is a beast and often bullies his centre forward. Axel is a very good defender and is effective at blocking shots. His most impressive trait is his effortless composure to carry the ball out of defence with a change of pace and dribbling talent. This is something Kieran Mckenna values very highly in a CB. He is also a leader and has previously captained Man Utd.
Things to improve on
At United one thing that was noticeable that potentially prevented him from being a regular starter was inconsistency with vertical passing. This means Axel’s percentage of forward passing is lower than it should be with higher numbers sideways and backwards. Axel can also be a bit rash when clearing the ball because he sometimes has time to take the ball down instead of clearing it into touch.
Career so far
Axel boast an impressive pedigree and levels of experience so far in his career. Axel has around 40 appearances for Man Utd, where he came through the youth system, as well as around 50 appearances on loan for Aston Villa. Axel has had brief loan spells of just two appearances at Napoli and five at Stoke on loan both hindered by injury, which is a common theme. Finally, he has one cap for England under 21.
Injury history
Despite everything being so positive so far, a monumental red flag with Axel is his injury proneness and long injury history. The injuries started during 18/19 season with a metatarsal fracture which ruled him out for 17 games. 19/20 was even worse for Axel as he suffered hip and thigh problems which cost him another 27 games. 20/21 was his worst injury yet with an ankle injury that ruled him out for 20 games. Finally, he is still recovering from a long term back issue which ruled him out almost entirely during the 22/23 season.
The only time Axel has started over 10 games in his career was the 2018/2019 season. Injuries have cost him so much football. If we sign Axel, we are taking a huge risk.
Memorable career moments
The only place to start is that night in Paris. Imagine your first game back after 10 months injured against the likes of Mbappe and Neymar. Axel rose to the occasion and bullied Mbappe, beating him for pace and strength on multiple occasions to put in a career-best performance to help United to a famous 2-1 victory.
Axel also played 90 mins in the play-off final, helping Aston Villa to achieve promotion with a 2-1 win over Derby.
Kieran Mckenna’s opinion
Mckenna much like many of our other coaching staff have previously coached Axel at Man Utd and Axel has also played a lot with Brandon Williams so has a built up a relationship there.
Mckenna said on deadline day, ‘Axel’s a player I know very well, a player of real high pedigree.’ He continued, ‘a tremendous player who has played at higher levels and would be attractive to any club certainly at this level.’
Jose Mourinho also said on Axel, ’10 mins is enough! the potential is there, you can see it immediately.’
Public
One slight concern is that it is now public that Axel is on trial with us which means other clubs can still come in and offer him a contract much like Real Betis who have been linked today and could offer him a more luxurious deal. It is important to note that he was seen watching the Cardiff game at Portman Road, so he clearly does have an interest in joining us.
Wages could be an issue. United Axel was on around 50k a week so he would have to slash those wages by more than half as we don’t have a player over 20k at the moment (potentially Brandon Williams.)
In conclusion
Axel Tuanzebe would be a top signing. A great pedigree and adding much needed championship experience and quality to the CB department. In terms of his playing style, he fits our system perfectly and if he can stay injury free he will be a absolute steal on a free transfer. His value and stock will quickly rise!
Big concern is obviously injuries. If he were to hit say 20 games this season, it would be incredible but huge doubts over if he will even get to 10. Also wages could be a problem as he will have to take a massive wage cut to join us.