According to the Athletic, Newcastle United target Axel Tuanzebe is close to joining Aston Villa on loan.
The Manchester United defender has been heavily linked with a move to St James’ Park, as Steve Bruce looks to sign a defender.
After missing out on Kristoffer Ajer and William Saliba, it looked like Tuanzebe was going to be the new centre-back at Newcastle.
However, that no longer appears to be the case.
The Athletic state that Tuanzebe will sign a new contract with Manchester United before joining Aston Villa on loan.
It will be the third time he’s joined Villa temporarily, but this time he might be making a mistake.
Axel Tuanzebe might regret going to Aston Villa amid report
Aston Villa are clearly a more ambitious club than Newcastle. They performed well last season, and are making moves to improve their squad.
Even with Jack Grealish going to Manchester City, Dean Smith’s side are well placed to enjoy another decent Premier League campaign.
However, that doesn’t mean that Tuanzebe has made the right decision.
The 23-year-old wants regular first-team football, something he’s not going to get at Manchester United. That’s why he is set to leave on loan.
But will he even get that at Aston Villa?
Smith normally uses a back four, and already has two established centre-backs.
The partnership of Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa worked brilliantly last season. The former has also seen his stock rise with some strong performances for England at Euro 2020.
It’s going to be very difficult for Tuanzebe to get in that team ahead of either of them.
The Athletic claim that he could play at right-back as well, but even that will be tough with Matty Cash enjoying a strong debut year in the Premier League.
If Tuanzebe came to Newcastle, he would have a much better opportunity of first-team football.
Bruce is likely to deploy three centre-backs, which would give Tuanzebe more chance of playing.
And considering the Toon manager is so desperate for a new centre-back, it seems highly likely that anyone who comes in will be a guaranteed starter.
Aston Villa will likely do better than Newcastle this season, but that doesn’t mean Tuanzebe is making the right decision.
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