According to The Athletic, Manchester United central defender Axel Tuanzebe is on the transfer wishlist of newly-promoted Premier League club Bournemouth. The 24-year-old has recently been linked with a move to Turkey, with Trabzonspor emerging as a likely destination. Tuanzebe is a Manchester United youth product but has only been used sporadically by the managers at the helm of affairs at the club over the past few seasons. The defender has been sent out on multiple loans and does not feature in new manager Erik ten Hag’s plans going forward.
Tuanzebe was first sent out on a six-month loan to Aston Villa for the second half of the 2017/18 season, where he made five Championship appearances. The Manchester United academy product returned to Villa Park for the following season and played 30 matches for them across all competitions and also helped them gain promotion to the Premier League.
Upon returning to Old Trafford, the Englishman was provided with very few opportunities by then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But Tuanzebe fell further down the pecking order of central defenders at Manchester United following the arrival of Harry Maguire.
Tuanzebe was again sent by Manchester United to Aston Villa on loan for the first half of the 2021/22 season before joining Napoli for the second half of the season. However, at Napoli, he made just two appearances and has now returned to Old Trafford.
He travelled with the rest of the squad to Australia on the club’s pre-season tour but has now left the tour early as links with Trabzonspor have emerged. And Premier League new boys Bournemouth have now emerged as a potential destination.
The Cherries sealed a return to the Premier League for the upcoming season and are eager to strengthen in multiple departments. The central defensive area is high on their priority list as they just have Lloyd Kelly, Chris Mepham and James Hill as the recognised centre-backs.