Napoli could finalise their agreement for the temporary transfer of Aston Villa loanee Axel Tuanzebe from Manchester United in the next 48-hours, according to TuttoMercatoWEB.
The Serie A side are intent on adding Tuanzebe to Luciano Spalletti’s squad after they sold Kostas Manolas to Olympiacos. His €2.5m (£2m) departure has depleted the Azzurri ranks, with Kalidou Koulibaly, Juan Jesus and Amir Rrahmani the only options.
Koulibaly will also miss most of January for the Africa Cup of Nations if he recovers from a thigh injury. The blow has kept the Senegal star out of action since the start of the month.
Napoli are now in close contact with Manchester United over ending Tuanzebe’s Aston Villa loan early for their own transfer. The deal will also include an option to buy him next year.
The operation is far down the road, with the last sizable hurdle remaining being Napoli and Manchester United agreeing on the fee for Tuanzebe’s possible permanent transfer.
The Azzurri and Red Devils could come to an agreement on a price for Tuanzebe before the New Year. So, the 24-year-old may have already played his last game on loan at Aston Villa.
Will Aston Villa target new defender once Tuanzebe seals Napoli transfer?
Manchester United cutting short Tuanzebe’s loan with Aston Villa to seal a move to Napoli should force Steven Gerrard to sign a new defender during the January transfer window.
While Gerrard has rarely utilised Tuanzebe since replacing Dean Smith, he offers the Villans depth at centre-back. He has also been ahead of Kortney Hause as the immediate backup to Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa.
Mings and Konsa have played every minute of the Villa Park native’s seven Premier League games under Gerrard so far. Hause, meanwhile, is yet to play under the Liverpool legend, while Tuanzebe has only amassed eight-minutes over two substitute appearances.
Gerrard is likely loath to see Aston Villa left with three available centre-halves if Tuanzebe seals a transfer to Napoli. Even if he has not relied on the defender Manchester United ace Luke Shaw, via the Express, once called ‘unbelievable’.
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