Axel Tuanzebe left out of Napoli’s Europa League squad

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Manchester United loanee Axel Tuanzebe has not been named in Napoli’s Europa League squad.

TuttoNapoli report Tuanzebe has been ‘excluded’ from the squad, describing the decision as a ‘surprise’.

The Serie A side made one change, bringing in full-back Faouzi Ghoulam in place of Kostas Manolas, who was sold to Olympiakos in January.

Napoli have a Europa League last 32 clash against Barcelona, a glamour tie that Tuanzebe would have been dreaming about playing in from the moment he signed.

Now, it’s possible Tuanzebe would not even have played in these matches and that Napoli will lose, curtailing their Europa League knockout run in just two matches.

But even so, this is a major blow for Tuanzebe, who will feel less like part of the team and less valued by the club as a result of this decision.

Tough start

Tuanzebe left previous loan club Aston Villa after falling out of favour. In truth, he was never really in favour.

He hoped for better fortune at Napoli, and so far it has not panned out that way. While it’s early days, Tuanzebe is merely a back-up.

He has only started one game to date, a Coppa Italia defeat in which Napoli conceded five goals against Fiorentina.

In Serie A he has either been a late substitute (playing 10 minutes total) or not been used at all.

Juan Jesus, Kalidou Koulibaly and Amir Rrahmani are all ahead of Tuanzebe, leaving him as just fourth choice.

A lot can change between now and the end of the season and Tuanzebe will get his chance, and look to force his way in as a regular, it just hasn’t happened right away.

Napoli have taken the decision based on what they have seen so far, that they can live without Tuanzebe in the Europa League. It’s early days, they just haven’t seen enough yet to be convinced.

Currently his United prospects are looking more and more distant. Tuanzebe can’t worry about that for now, he simply has to try and turn his Napoli loan into a success.

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