Aston Villa needed to sign a replacement centre-back for Bjorn Engels after the 26-year-old joined Royal Antwerp this summer, so the arrival of Axel Tuanzebe on loan from Manchester United has been received very positively on social media. He made 35 appearances for Villa in previous loan spells.
Villa confirmed on Sunday that they’d re-signed the 23-year-old on a season-long loan, so they now have four central defenders ahead of the upcoming campaign – Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Kortney Hause and Tuanzebe. The final piece of the puzzle may be a central midfielder.
Tuanzebe is the fifth player signed by Villa this summer, following Emiliano Buendia (£34m from Norwich City), Ashley Young (free transfer from Inter Milan), Leon Bailey (£28m from Bayer Leverkusen) and Danny Ings (£31m from Southampton) through the door.
The last position Villa want to strengthen was in midfield. They’ve been linked with Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe and Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Winks, but it remains to be seen who they’ll bring in.
Nevertheless, Tuanzebe’s return is being treated as fantastic news and fans will hope he has a positive impact at Villa Park like before.
