Axel Tuanzebe's Aston Villa decision backfires as Manchester United man faces nightmare loan

Manchester United centre-back Axel Tuanzebe chose to give up on his chances of forcing his way into Steven Gerrard's plans at Aston Villa when Napoli offered a loan switch in January.

The 23-year-old was due to return to Old Trafford at the end of the season, having joined Villa on loan in the summer, but cut short his third stay at Villa Park due to a lack of game time.

Tuanzebe had only started six games at Villa before deciding to call it quits on his latest spell in the Midlands.

Following Steven Gerrard's appointment at Villa in November, Tuanzebe had only been handed eight minutes of action across two appearances and that prompted him to find regular football elsewhere when the January window rolled around.

But Tuanzebe's decision to join Serie A side Napoli might well have backfired, with the defender yet to start a single game for the club since arriving in Italy last month.

In fact, he has only played 10 minutes of league football, which came on his Serie A debut against Sampdoria.

Manager Luciano Spalletti also opted not to include Tuanzebe in his 25-man squad for the European knock-out stages.

The Napoli boss claimed that depth in the centre-back position, compared to elsewhere on the pitch meant he became a casualty of the late cuts.

Tuanzebe is set to become a free agent in the summer with his contract at United due to end at the end of this season.