Dean Smith: No talks yet over Axel Tuanzebe’s Aston Villa future
Dean Smith has hailed ‘terrific’ Axel Tuanzebe but revealed Villa have not yet held talks about bringing the defender back on loan next season.
Reports this week claimed Manchester United might be willing to let the 21-year-old return to Villa Park in the summer.
But while Tuanzebe is highly-rated by Smith and his coaching staff, any discussions over the future beyond the current campaign will be saved until further down the line.
Smith said: “It is not a conversation I have had with Axel. It is not a conversation I have had with Manchester United.”
Tuanzebe, who has spent the last 18 months on loan at Villa, is back to full fitness following the foot injury which kept him sidelined since mid-December.
“Axel is a great player and we all like him here,” continued Smith. “He’s a great athlete, quick and comfortable on the ball and tactically astute too.
“He is the sort of player where you can understand why he is at Manchester United.
“You can also understand why you would want to let him out to a team which gets crowds of 42,000.
“He is getting used to the pressure of playing in front of those sort of crowds.
“We are glad he is here and I am glad he is back to full fitness. We missed him when he wasn’t here.”
Villa have extended the deadline for early bird season ticket sales by another week, until Friday, April 12.
The decision has been taken due to the trading issues experienced by Zebra Finance, who provide credit to season ticket holders of several clubs.
