Ipswich Town supporters have to be underwhelmed by this exciting 2023 arrival:
Axel Tuanzebe has been quite underwhelming since arriving at Portman Road in the summer.
The announcement of Axel Tuanzebe’s signing caused plenty of excitement among the Ipswich Town faithful.
The Tractor Boys had started their Championship campaign in fine fashion, after being promoted from League One at the end of last season. They had won four of their first five league games at the start of the campaign, before announcing the highly-anticipated signing of Tuanzebe at the start of September.
The defender was a free agent for the first time in his senior career last summer, and Ipswich came calling. The Tractor Boys have enjoyed a superb Championship campaign so far, as they have remained in and around the top two for the majority of the season.
The Tractor Boys kept a large portion of their promotion-winning squad in the summer and added some seemingly strong additions. One of which was Tuanzebe, but the club may be surprised at the lack of impact he has had since signing, despite the hype that came with the defender.
Tuanzebe before Ipswich
The DR Congo-born defender spent 17 years on the books at Manchester United, joining the club at the age of eight. He became a regular for their U21’s, even wearing the captain’s armband on many occasions, and appeared to be a big part of Manchester United’s future.
Tuanzebe made his senior debut in the 2016/17 season, and then joined Aston Villa on loan in the following campaign. He then went on to spend two more spells on loan with the club, as well as brief spells with Napoli and Stoke City. The defender also made many appearances for England’s youth teams.
For Manchester United’s first team, he made 19 Premier League appearances, and despite the hype around his name as a youngster, he never quite fulfilled his potential. He was released in the summer of 2023 as a 25-year-old, before joining Ipswich in September.
When Tuanzebe joined Ipswich, there were many factors which made it an exciting transfer. Firstly, he had multiple Premier League and Champions League appearances under his belt and was reunited with Kieran McKenna, who had coached Tuanzebe in United’s academy. Additionally, it was a free transfer for Ipswich, so there were very few risks.
Despite it being a free transfer, many Ipswich fans were hopeful that he would be a big part of their side’s success this season, but so far that has not been the case.
Tuanzebe has made just five league starts, along with three in cup competitions, and has failed to really impress in McKenna’s back line. The defender did score in a 3-1 FA Cup victory over League Two AFC Wimbledon, but it wasn’t quite enough to win over the Ipswich Faithful…
