Stoke City considering summer permanent transfer for Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe

Stoke City are weighing up a permanent move for Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe.

Tuanzebe, 25, is out of contract at United at the end of the season and he's set to leave the club on a free transfer. The defender joined Stoke on loan in January and a permanent move to the Bet365 stadium in the summer window is possible.

The centre-back only returned to training at Carrington in mid-January after a lengthy spell on the sidelines with injury, but he completed a deadline day move to Championship club Stoke in search of regular minutes.

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Stoke have no option or obligation to make the loan deal permanent, so should they want to sign Tuanzebe following the expiry of his United contract in the summer, new terms will have to be agreed upon with his representative.

Tuanzebe has left United on loan five different times and his time at Old Trafford is now beginning to come to an end. After overcoming injury, he's started Stoke's last three games and manager Alex Neil provided an update on his future.

"I think everything is possible," Neil said. "Once we get to the end of the season we've not only got the lads who are here on loan but the lads who are out of contract currently in the summer as well. I don't think anything is off the table.

"You'll have a section of people who will say we don't stand a chance of getting him, him or him. That's rubbish. You've have another section saying we'll definitely sign him, him and him. That's also rubbish.

"There is every possibility that we could sort something out to try to keep the fabric of the team at the moment which I think at the moment is functioning very well together and then try to grow and add to it