Well, this story is becoming as old and as long as an endless piece of string.
Everyone knows the speculation linking us with a return for Manchester United youngster Axel Tuanzebe. Highly rated, but it’s not like the 20-year-old particular shone (or in fairness looked woeful) in his limited four starting appearances in 2017/18 or the substitute showing he made.
We all are also more than aware as to why we are being linked with free agents and loan players because everyone is dismissing the guff suggesting we’re about to buy X, Y or Z, so we again get the same old rumours being rehashed and in some cases not even rewritten as they get published for a fourth/fifth time in the space of a week.
I’m not covering this for its news value by the way, that’s why there’s no link, there’s no need. Everyone knows the story and can probably repeat it word by word from memory from whatever outlet you read it on initially, so they have their credit and they have their click – and truth be told, I caught this on twitter, I’m not wasting my time re-reading it, so I have nothing to source.
My interest comes in what seems like a shift in reaction on social media. At the beginning responses called on manager Steve Bruce to use our own youth, but they were small in comparison to those who saw benefit in the extra cover some of last years loanees would bring – especially as they already knew the club and the group.
I think there’s been a marked shift in the more recent responses with homegrown potential talent now seeming to be the preferred option – for a whole variety of reasons that I probably don’t need to explain.
Well considering Tuanzebe is a natural CB, he can play next to Chester
— ROADIE (@ROADIERHODES) July 11, 2018
Chester won't be there son
— Остин (@HadenAustin) July 11, 2018
Would do this and play him centre back or defensive centre midfield.
— Jacko (@Jacko__10) July 11, 2018
What is the point of our academy? We rarely use the players, we don’t sell them on for a profit like other clubs, we just release them and watch them do well for others…
— Andrew Millington (@MillingtonVilla) July 11, 2018
No thanks, no more quick hits….BUILD something.
— Simon Rawlins (@Sprawlsy) July 11, 2018
No, thanks ????
— #12Andy (@norvillan) July 11, 2018
Why oh why ????
— jason cameron (@jasoncameron6) July 11, 2018
Good move. Great move. Do it now.
— Joe Thoma (@joe_thoma_iv) July 11, 2018
No
— Dave Jones. (@Jonesy1958) July 11, 2018
Let’s use what we got build a team around or youngsters and not someone who don’t care about the club
— Zaggy (@zaggy59) July 11, 2018
Tuanzebe? No better than anything we've got already, unless he's a better centre back than any of us realises. He's certainly not needed at right back.
— Paul Tomlinson (@PaulTomlinsonn) July 11, 2018
No. No. No.
— Andrew Service (@AndoServise) July 11, 2018