By Wayne Veysey

18th Mar, 2023 | 7:30am

Sources: Man United forgotten man Axel Tuanzebe in line for surprise £62,000-a-week deal

Man United loanee Axel Tuanzebe will land a £20,000-a-week pay rise if the club trigger the option to extend his contract by 12 months, sources have told Football Insider.

The 25-year-old is currently on loan at Stoke City until the end of the season, when his deal at parent club United is also due to expire.

It is understood that United are paying a significant chunk of Tuanzebe’s £42,000-a-week wages while he is at the Championship club.

Like with many of their senior players, United have protected the value of Tuanzebe by including a 12-month option in his contract to avoid him leaving on a summer free.

Intriguingly, should this be triggered, the defender’s salary will automatically rise to £62,000-a-week, a huge club of £20,000-a-week.

United fans would be stunned by that given the forgotten player has made just 37 first-team appearances since graduating from their youth set-up.

He has failed to convince a series of United managers and has fared little better during multiple loan moves.

Tuanzebe has made just four appearances for Stoke in all competitions – spread across 240 minutes of action – since joining them at the end of the January window.

He has started their last two matches at centre-back, his first league starts anywhere this season.

Last term, Tuanzebe had two spells on loan, at Aston Villa in the first half of the campaign and then a wretched spell at Napoli where he made only two appearances.

In other news, Man United willing to agree surprise swap deal – this is summer ‘deal to watch’