Why is Former Manchester United Player Axel Tuanzebe Suing the Club ?

Imagine a player growing up in Africa, relocating to England and joining the prestigious Manchester United youth academy at just the tender age of eight, filing an official complaint against his boyhood club. This is the story of Axel Tuanzebe, the 27-year-old Congolese defender, who rendered his services to Manchester United for seventeen years. He recently came into the spotlight after alleging that he was given poor medical advice during his tenure at Old Trafford, which saw him battling with injury for the majority of his footballing career. He has filed a legal case against Manchester United for clinical negligence.

Axel Tuanzebe's fight with injuries

The Congolese defender, who showed early signs of success in his youth days, has faced a terrible time due to injuries that have significantly reduced his playing time on the field. Between 2018 and 2023, a series of injuries saw him make just a handful of 37 appearances in half a decade. In 2019, Tuanzebe suffered a hamstring strain against Colchester in the Carabao Cup fixture, which saw him being sidelined for nearly three months.

In the 2020 preseason, he picked up an ankle injury, which kept him away for eight months. Even during his time as a loanee at Aston Villa, Napoli and Stoke City, injuries didn't seem to get kinder to Tuanzebe. From metatarsal fractures, lumbago to hamstring issues, the Congolese defender has been very unlucky on medical grounds.

His fitness, however, improved after bidding adieu to his boyhood club and kickstarting new ventures at Ipswich Town and Burnley FC. Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna lauded Tuanzebe's spirit and described him as “a real leader on the pitch”. Despite suffering minor setbacks like a broken thumb and a thigh problem, Tuanzebe never let injuries defy his spirit.

Will Manchester United pay compensation to Tuanzebe?

Tuanzebe has allegedly filed a case regarding clinical negligence from the Manchester United team. If the court finds out that the club mishandled Tuanzebe's treatment, which severely impacted his performance and reduced his playing days, compensation is likely.

It will also be interesting to see if United argue that Tuanzebe had an injury-prone body and that his stint of injuries continued even at other clubs after he departed from Manchester United.

Axel Tuanzebe was once touted as a bright prospect by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. However, his repetitive injuries had severely impacted his performance, but the former youth captain of the Manchester United team still stands tall to continue playing and pouring his heart and soul on the pitch for whichever jersey he wears.