Italian side Napoli have formally announced the signing of Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe.
In a statement on the clubs official website, they announced that the 24-year-old will be joining them on loan until the end of the season.
Tuanzebe had been on loan with Aston Villa for the first part of the season in what was his second spell with The Villans.
After an initial bright start where he played in the majority of games at Aston Villa, the defender then faded down the pecking order, with the arrival of Steven Gerrard being the final straw for his hopes of earning significant minutes.
So far Tuanzebe has made 11 appearances in all competitions this season, but will be hoping to make plenty more as Napoli compete across the Serie A, Europa League and Coppa Italia.
Despite making his team debut with the club in the 2016/17 season, Tuanzebe has failed to ever earn consistent playing time at Old Trafford and has only made a total of 37 appearances for the Red Devils, despite a number of displays which have denoted the player’s quality, including a colossal performance against Paris-Saint Germain in a 2-1 win on Champions League matchday 1 of the 2020/21 season.
With Man United currently struggling in defence this season, with the normally dependable Harry Maguire consistently putting up below par performances, Tuanzebe may have had a claim to print his name on the senior team starting xi.
However, Interim coach Ralf Rangick deemed Tuanzebe’s development to be better served elsewhere, with Napoli stepping up to take the Congo born Englishman on loan.