Erik ten Hag used 22 players in Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Liverpool in Bangkok, with four players left on the bench for the 90-minute affair.
Ten Hag named a 31-man squad for the trip to Thailand and Australia but five players were left out of the squad to face Jurgen Klopp’s side, with the German using 32 players in the game.
Axel Tuanzebe, who has one year remaining on his contract at United, was one of the players left out of the matchday squad. Now, it has been revealed that the former Aston Villa star has left United’s pre-season tour.
That’s according to the Manchester Evening News, who say that after also missing training the day prior to United’s thrashing of Liverpool, Tuanzebe was not part of the travelling group which has now made its way to Melbourne.
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As per the report, a Manchester United spokesperson has commented on Tuanzebe’s withdrawal: “Axel returned back to Manchester this morning to deal with a small personal issue.”
Will Fish, who made his Premier League debut under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the end of the 2020/21 season, has been picked to join the tour in Tuanzebe’s place to add cover at centre-back.
SN’s verdict…
Tuanzebe’s departure from Manchester United has been looming large for quite some while and although his withdrawal from this summer’s tour is due to personal issues, it’s unlikely that he has a future beyond this summer at Old Trafford.
United are open to offers for the 24-year-old and if they cannot secure a transfer fee this summer, he is likely to leave on a free transfer next year.
Tuanzebe’s most recent loan spells, six months on either side of last season at Aston Villa and Napoli respectively, have been disastrous.
United’s pursuit of Ajax star Lisandro Martinez is advancing and the Argentine’s arrival would further push him down the pecking order, with Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly all comfortably ahead of him.
