Friday, March 29, 2024

Tuanzebe is a leader – Solskjaer explains Pogba captaincy decision

SoccerNews in General Soccer News 26 Sep 2019

145 Views

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists giving the Manchester United captaincy to Axel Tuanzebe was not a snub to Paul Pogba.

The 21-year-old defender, who has skippered United teams throughout his progression up the youth ranks at Old Trafford, wore the armband for Wednesday’s EFL Cup match against Rochdale.

United averted a humiliating exit after being held to a 1-1 draw by their League One opponents, prevailing 5-3 on penalties.

Pogba endured a lacklustre outing in midfield and there was plenty of focus upon why a World Cup winner, who served as United’s vice-captain last season before a breakdown in relations with Jose Mourinho, was not selected to lead the team out of the tunnel.

But Solskjaer maintained he knows all he needs to about senior men like Pogba and cup goalkeeper Sergio Romero, while midweek gave him an opportunity to learn more about Tuanzebe’s appetite to lead on the big stage.

“Axel is a captain in the making, he’s a leader – why not give it to young kids?” he said in an interview with talkSPORT.

“We know we can give it to Sergio and we can give it to Paul, that’s no problem and they’ve been captains before.

“But it was Axel and how does he handle it? He was absolutely fine, he enjoyed it.

“It’s just a way of telling him that we trust him.”

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dreams do come true. Thank you @manchesterunited for a very special moment.

A post shared by Zubee (@axeltuanzebe_38) on Sep 25, 2019 at 3:38pm PDT

Teenage striker Mason Greenwood passed up some good openings before firing United in front and he will probably be needed to lead the line in the Monday Premier League showdown against Arsenal, as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial remain sidelined.

“Some players learned a lot [against Rochdale] and some proved to us that we can give them more responsibility,” Solskjaer added.

“Mason again showed with his goalscoring abilities why we regard him so highly.

“He has two great feet and took the penalty with his right, so he must be a nightmare for defenders having him one on one in the box.

“He can go both ways, which is for me fantastic. You can just see he has got quality and he will get his share of games.

“But he is young and we will give him time to grow.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SoccerNews

Soccernews.com is news blog for soccer with comprehensive coverage of all the major leagues in Europe, as well as MLS in the United States. In addition we offer breaking news for transfers and transfer rumors, ticket sales, betting tips and offers, match previews, and in-depth editorials.

You can follow us on Facebook: Facebook.com/soccernews.com or Twitter: @soccernewsfeed.

SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

WE RECOMMEND

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This field is required *

Join the conversation!

or Register

Live Scores

advertisement

Betting Guide Advertisement

advertisement

Become a Writer
More More
Top