Ipswich Town’s Axel Tuanzebe has earned a spot in Troy Deeney’s BBC Sport Premier League Team of the Week.
The 26-year-old defender played the full 90 minutes in Ipswich’s goalless draw against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.
Tuanzebe’s primary assignment was to neutralize Japanese international Kaoru Mitoma, a challenge he managed effectively, restricting Mitoma’s opportunities significantly.
The former Manchester United centre-back demonstrated impressive speed and solid one-on-one defending, attributes that did not go unnoticed by Deeney, who was present at the match.
“He absolutely dealt with Kaoru Mitoma,” Deeney remarked, having witnessed the performance firsthand. He praised Tuanzebe’s defensive capabilities, noting, “He is obviously really good—excellent defending and he did well going forward. He contributed to another clean sheet for Ipswich on the road.”
While Deeney included Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke and Carlos Baleba in his Team of the Week, Ipswich’s Arijanet Muric, despite his standout man-of-the-match display against Brighton, was not selected. Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez was chosen instead.
Brighton’s manager, Fabian Hürzeler, also commended Tuanzebe, labeling him as a ‘very strong defender’ and noting his status as ‘one of the fastest defenders in the league.’
