---
title: "Axel Tuanzebe named Young Player of the Year"
canonical: "https://readmanutd.com/2015/05/20/axel-tuanzebe-named-young-player-of-the-year/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
section: "Man Utd News"
published: "2015-05-20T10:33:53Z"
modified: "2015-05-20T10:34:28Z"
---

# Axel Tuanzebe named Young Player of the Year

Axel Tuanzebe has been named Manchester United’s Under-18s Player of the Year at the annual awards night on Tuesday evening.

The 17-year-old was handed the award by manager Paul McGuinness, and praised after guiding his side to the play-off stage in the Academy League as captain. The central defender featured 29 times for the Under-18s across the campaign, and also enjoyed three appearances for the Under-21s as a substitute.

After notable players such as Danny Welbeck, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs have all won the accolade, Tuanzebe was presented with the Jimmy Murphy trophy a year after James Wilson, who is steadily breaking into Louis van Gaal’s first team.

The youngster, who first joined the club at the tender age of eight, said: “It’s been a good season for myself. I think I’ve had a lot of support from all the coaches and staff. A lot of the players were backing me throughout the season because I was captain as well.

“It’s been a great season for all of us really with a small squad. I think we’ve had to grind through many of the games and I think we’ve come out well.

“It’s been a long road and a lot of players have come and gone. I think there are four players from my Under-11s team who are still here now and it’s been a great experience.”

When asked about having the responsibility of the captaincy, he joked: “I enjoy being captain, most definitely, because you get to boss the other players around!

“Only time will tell. I hope I can continue progressing and hopefully I can get there soon enough,” he added about following previous winners into the first-team ranks.

Manager McGuinness also praised Tuanzebe as a worthy winner, and commended his individual and team performances for the Under-18s. “Axel’s led the team superbly throughout the year,” he said. “At the beginning of the year, you’ve got to make a choice as captain and that is difficult. You’ve got to think about what’s best for all the players and who will it benefit most.

“I made a choice I’d not made before – I made a first-year player my captain and the reason I did it was because has outstanding potential as a leader. I thought I’d give him as much practice as he could get. That’s what we’ve done this year and he’s not let us down.”

Axel Tuanzebe is tipped to feature regularly for the Under-21s next season.