An update has emerged regarding Newcastle's interest in Manchester United's Axel Tuanzebe.

What's the talk?

According to The Athletic, the Magpies are are monitoring the 23-year-old's situation at Manchester United and Steve Bruce would be interested in signing the defender on loan or permanently this summer.

The report claims that Newcastle have been priced out of deals to sign Kristoffer Ajer and Ozan Kabak from Celtic and Schalke 04 respectively, with the former said to be heading to newly-promoted Brentford. Attentions have now turned to alternative targets, with Tuanzebe one of the names on the club's hitlist.

Bruce needs him

Mike Ashley must sanction a deal to prise Tuanzebe away from Old Trafford in the coming weeks, as he could be a superb addition to Bruce's squad. 27-year-old Jamaal Lascelles is his youngest natural centre-back option and Paul Dummett's WhoScored rating of 6.66 was the best of the bunch in that position, suggesting that it could be time for fresh blood at St James' Park in the centre of the defence.

Therefore, Tuanzebe could be an ideal signing for Newcastle. He is in the early stages of his career at 23, which means that he could be a long-term centre-back option for the club instead of a short-term fix  if they are able to sign him on a permanent deal. The Englishman has also shown glimpses of his quality in the first team for Manchester United.

His performances for the Red Devils in the 2019/20 Europa League showed that he has the potential to be a good player in the Premier League. Tuanzebe averaged an excellent WhoScored rating of 7.22 in three starts, winning 4.7 aerial battles per game.

The defender then continued to catch the eye in Europe last season. Back in October, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hailed the “tremendous” Tuanzebe as a leader after his performance against PSG in the Champions League up against French forward Kylian Mbappe.

The Red Devils boss said: "Axel's a tremendous defender, a great leader. He's come through the academy and we've known for years that he's going to be a top player for us and he's got the character and the attitude that a Man United player should have.

"Sometimes you’ll get in a foot race with Mbappe and you have to run with him and we know Axel’s qualities, he’s a top defender."

Therefore, the £38,000-per-week powerhouse could be a much-needed addition to Newcastle's squad, and Bruce will be delighted if a deal can be done for him ahead of next season. He clearly impressed Solskjaer enough to earn high praise from him after playing against Mbappe, which bodes well for him playing week-in-week-out in the Premier League for Newcastle if they can bring him to Tyneside.

AND in other news, Newcastle handed boost over £15m “phenomenon”, Bruce will surely be buzzing...