Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has told defender Axel Tuanzebe he is free to find a new club, Football Insider report.

What’s the latest Man United news on Tuanzebe?

Tuanzebe is a product of the famous Red Devils academy and progressed to a first-team player back in 2017. However, the centre-back has been sent out on multiple loan spells during his time on the books at Old Trafford, making just 37 first-team appearances for United.

The 25-year-old has actually turned out more times for Aston Villa and even headed out to Italy for a temporary spell with Napoli. He is currently on a season-long loan stint with Championship side Stoke City, where he has featured on just five occasions.

Tuanzebe’s £2.6m-a-year deal with United is set to expire in a matter of months, and it looks as if he could be on his way out of Carrington for good in the summer.

Football Insider reporter Wayne Veysey shared an update regarding Tuanzebe in the last 48 hours. He stated that Ten Hag has told the player he is free to find a new club, with United preparing to ‘clear the decks’ this summer.

United have the option to extend Tuanzebe’s contract but aren’t expected to do so, with the defender set to be the first of an eight-player clear-out.

Are United right to move Tuanzebe on?

Tuanzebe was once mooted as a future Red Devils captain with former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a big fan, however, things have gone downhill pretty quickly for the defender.

He last hit double figures for league appearances during the 2018/19 season in the Championship with Villa, while he last featured for United back in the 2020/21 campaign.

Therefore, it seems to make sense for the club to refuse to take up their option of extending the player’s contract, especially with Tuanzebe being outperformed by a number of Stoke defenders in recent months, as per WhoScored.

He may well be joined by Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, with Ten Hag also giving the green light to summer sales for the pair, meaning it could be an extremely busy transfer window with the club also wanting to sign a midfielder and forward. A potential centre-back who could be on his way to Manchester is Napoli's Kim Min-Jae, with the club preparing to swoop, and his arrival appears to be needed with several defenders possibly departing.