Axel Tuanzebe

[Andi Istiabudi]

AXEL TUANZEBE COMING OF AGE AT UNITED

There is a quote from Sir Matt Busby emblazoned on a wall at the Aon Training Complex that reads: 'If you're good enough, you're old enough'.

It is a deep-rooted philosophy that still rings true today and there is genuine optimism that Axel Tuanzebe can lead a new batch of Manchester United youngsters in providing first-team options for Jose Mourinho even as early as next season.

Tuanzebe featured in the manager's very first game in charge of the club, a friendly at Wigan Athletic, and earned instant praise from the boss. He excelled in the opening matches of Premier League 2 at Reserves level and has looked a Rolls Royce of a defender, as well as a true leader.

Last Thursday, he was awarded the Denzil Haroun Player of the Year trophy in recognition of his fine performances in the Reserves. "I'd say the season started off good, actually," he told MUTV last week. "Pre-season with the first team and it would have been great to stay up from there but it wasn't the case.

"So it was just hard work coming into it, not giving up and going again. Coming to the close [of the campaign], I'd say it's been excellent. I've been getting the minutes I've been waiting for and thanks to the manager for the opportunity. Receiving the award was another bonus to it, so it's been good."

The 19-year-old was part of the squad that travelled to Stockholm for the UEFA Europa League final after impressing on each of his four successive starts in the Premier League. He was outstanding at right-back when shackling Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez and has been highly effective in a midfield holding role against Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton.

On Sunday, in a fine win over Crystal Palace, the biggest compliment he could be paid is to say he looked like one of the seasoned veterans helping the new faces adapt to life in the first team. Again operating in midfield, a position he may have played for England's under-age sides and once, from memory, as a man-marker in a Reserves game at Chelsea, his display certainly suggested he is ready for Premier League football.

Even if he has primarily been a centre-back at United, Tuanzebe is happy to get out on the pitch in any role and even happier to see his youthful colleagues alongside him, as was the case at the weekend.

"I can play in any of the positions I'm asked to play in," he asserted. "For the time being, it's a case of kind of developing and, once you become a regular, you have a fixed position which you progress in for the rest of your career. For now, if I'm told to do a job, I just do it.

"For me, as a captain to those players, I'm as proud as the coaches to see them coming through [against Palace]. We've been working together and I've known this lot since I was that big [gestures to a small height] so to come through and play together is a dream come true.

"There's a motto in the building across there saying: 'If you're good enough, you're old enough'. I think Angel [Gomes] is one of the players who is good enough to play. Obviously, over time, he will improve but I think, right now, his technical ability is formidable. He's a very talented player."

At 16, Gomes's time will come and it won't be in Stockholm on Wednesday. For Tuanzebe, he must hope for a place in the matchday squad with his versatility presumably giving the boss food for thought as a potential option on the bench. The Europa League final would be a dream way to end the season for the teenager.

"You come into it and think it's all about winning trophies and leaving a legacy behind," he said. "To be involved in something so big, the first one in Manchester United's history, is amazing if I get that opportunity to play. I'd always remember it for my first big European trophy or involvement or whatever it turns out to be. It would be a really proud moment for myself."

Not that the hard work would end there. Far from it, as the youngster acknowledges, but he has his sights set on the future already - as did the majority of the fans inside Old Trafford watching the game on Sunday.

"The Europa League also gives us an opportunity to win the Super Cup," he declared. "So I think, if we can go into that and beat whoever wins the Champions League, it would send a big message to the world saying Manchester United are back into it and back into Champions League football and here to win. So I think it would be a very successful point of the season if we can lift the trophy.

"You don't want it [the campaign] to stop as it might break the momentum or something but it's been a tough season. We've had to grind out results and you always need a break to relax and put your feet up. But not for too long as you're back into the swing of it. You have to start early and be prepared for pre-season because pre-season is not easy with this manager! That's how you want it and you want to be strong coming into the season."

Whatever the outcome in Sweden, you get the sense Axel Tuanzebe is a man of his word. And, on recent evidence, he is proving good enough to play for this great club.

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