Axel Tuanzebe must rue his decision to quit Aston Villa, with Calciomercato already noting the defender has an uncertain future at Napoli just a month after joining in a loan transfer.
The Manchester United-owned centre-half upped sticks and left Birmingham for Naples in January after an underwhelming temporary spell in claret-and-blue. But his fortunes have not improved in Serie A, as Azzurri chiefs already sense he has too many physical issues.
Therefore, it is highly unlikely the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium natives look to open discussions over a permanent deal. Napoli agreed to take Tuanzebe to Italy for the rest of the term without a buy clause. They only paid a €500k (£417k) loan fee, per The Guardian.
Preliminary discussions between Manchester United and Napoli included the option to buy the 24-year-old this summer. But the Daily Mail noted the Red Devils wanted a £25m fee in such a deal, despite failing to establish himself under Dean Smith or Steven Gerrard at Villa.
Tuanzebe left Aston Villa having started just six of his nine Premier League appearances on loan from Manchester United. And his lack of minutes has continued in Italy, having so far featured just once in six Serie A games. He has missed Napoli’s last three with a back injury.
Tuanzebe must rue quitting Aston Villa with Napoli future murky already
Luciano Spalletti gave Tuanzebe his Napoli debut straight after the Manchester United ace cut his Aston Villa loan transfer short. But 10-minutes off the bench against Sampdoria on January 9 remains his only piece of Italian top-flight action so far.
Now facing a murky future in Naples should make Tuanzebe question his decision to leave Aston Villa. As while he was not playing regularly with a mere eight-minutes under Gerrard, Calum Chambers then took over his place at Villa Park and has started their last two games.
Tuanzebe, who Luke Shaw once dubbed ‘unbelievable’, would likely have faced Newcastle and Watford, instead. And former Arsenal defender Chambers was far from perfect against the Hornets, having been caught out in the build-up to Emmanuel Dennis clinching the win.
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