The January transfer window has finally shut and the final day turned out to be an eventful one from Manchester United’s perspective, despite the club not expecting much activity going into the month-long trading period.
Deadline day started with some bad news as Christian Eriksen was ruled out of action for at least three months and potentially the rest of the season.
Not long after, it was revealed that United had opened talks with Bayern Munich over the loan signing of midfielder Marcel Sabitzer – the former RB Leipzig star has now joined and is poised to become the first Austrian player to feature for the club.
Another surprising move was the departure of Axel Tuanzebe. The 25-year-old has not made any appearances this season but has now joined Stoke for the rest of the campaign.
Tuanzebe could have joined a different club, however, with United offering the player to join Leeds for the remainder of this season. That’s according to The Athletic, via The Metro, who add that Tuanzebe’s potential arrival at Elland Road was rejected by manager Jesse Marsch.
Tuanzebe spent the first half of last season on loan at Aston Villa but had that arrangement cut short after Dean Smith was let go by the Birmingham club. He joined Napoli for the remainder of the 2021/22 season but made just one Serie A appearance.
SN’s verdict…
United are currently well-stocked at centre-back and it was never realistic to think that Tuanzebe was going to make any progress this season, with settled first-team regulars such as Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof already struggling.
Tuanzebe is out of contract at Old Trafford at the end of this season and as things stand, there is no extension in sight for the defender.
He has captained United at every level but injuries have plagued him for the last three years. Hopefully, he nails down a place at Stoke quickly.