Wednesday 25 January 2017 20:09, UK
Jose Mourinho says the departures of Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin could pave the way for highly-rated Axel Tuanzebe to make his Manchester United debut this season.
Reserves captain Tuanzebe was highly praised by Mourinho during the summer, who said "10 minutes is enough to see his potential" after he came on as a substitute in the preseason against Sunday's FA Cup opponents Wigan Athletic.
With Depay and Schneiderlin both departing United earlier this month, the 19-year-old central defender has been training with the first team to boost squad numbers.
United have a busy fixture schedule in the coming weeks as they continue to compete in four competitions and Mourinho sees Tuanzebe as a potential option.
When asked if Tuanzebe could make the step up, United boss Mourinho told MUTV: "He can. We lost Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, two players who didn't play many minutes or many matches for us.
"They were two players from the squad, so we need numbers and probably Axel is one of the boys that's in the Academy who is more close to playing with us.
"So we have brought him up to give him more experience, to make the first team more natural for him in case we need him to play in the upcoming matches and month, so he can be more adapted to us."
