In just over five years working for Manchester United, I’ve done hundreds of interviews with dozens of players.
I’ll always remember the first, though, and Axel Tuanzebe was a genuine pleasure to speak to – insightful and intelligent, the defender belied his young age and was, I felt at the time, a potential United captain of the future.
A few weeks earlier, the DR Congo-born Rochdalian had led United out of the tunnel for a Carabao Cup clash with his hometown club, becoming our youngest skipper since Norman Whiteside in the 1980s.
Leadership seemed to be something that came naturally to Axel, even at 21.