Axel could be leader United are missing

TUANZEBE PUSHING FOR REGULAR SPOT AFTER DALE SHOW

IT was a draw that was a win, that felt like a loss.

And there were so few positives for United to take from their Carabao Cup ‘triumph,’ that Axel Tuanzebe’s calm and assured display at centre-back felt like a victory in itself.

Against the team from the town where he grew up, Rochdale, Tuanzebe sent another message in the direction of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – and Victor Lindelof, too.

Defence is hardly the most pressing of United’s concerns right now.

Their midfield is not creating enough chances and their forwards aren’t finishing off what opportunities do come their way, but there is a leadership void at the club, as highlighted by Roy Keane after the weekend’s 2-0 defeat at West Ham.

“They were lacklustre, there was no quality, a lack of desire, a lack of leaders, a lack of characters.”

Keane has garnered a reputation as a harsh and outspoken pundit, but he was actually lost for words at times during his debut stint as a Sky Sports regular at the weekend. This was as hard-hitting as it got, but he was right of course.

What the legendary former United captain would have made of the fayre served up by Solskjaer’s side against Rochdale doesn’t bear thinking about.

It was more of the same, dour stuff that we witnessed at the London Stadium, but Keane would surely have recognised a United skipper in the making, in Tuanzebe.

Amid the wreckage of United’s season so far, a leader is emerging, a player acting older than his years, more experienced than his seven career starts for United would suggest.

That Solskjaer and his coaching staff promoted the 21-year-old to the role ahead of Paul Pogba was a surprise to some. But Pogba is already a leader at Old Trafford and Solskjaer – who confides in Keane, a close friend – knows how desperate the need is to discover new leaders. Solskjaer has already said that Harry Maguire is a future captain, so how about a centre-back duo of two potential skippers? That’s something United haven’t had since Nemanja Vidic partnered Rio Ferdinand.

Tuanzebe revealed the armband came as a surprise when it was thrown in his direction before the Rochdale game. He said: “I was literally getting ready to stretch and loosen up and Mike Phelan just came to me and said ‘are you ready to go and see the referee.’

“I said ‘what do you mean?’ and he said, ‘Come on you are captain.’ So I said ‘alright, let’s get it.’” That last part feels significant. Tuanzebe wasn’t fazed by the prospect of being United captain, he was motivated by it. And why not, given he’s been captain of their age group sides, of England’s Dominic Booth