Axel Tuanzebe's season-long loan at Aston Villa could be could short, according to Fabrizio Romano. 

The lowdown

The Manchester United defender is currently in the midst of his third loan stint at Villa Park. He has made 11 appearances for the Villans this season in all competitions, including six Premier League starts.

There may be an opportunity for the 24-year-old to feature on Sunday, with Tyrone Mings suspended for the trip to Brentford.

The latest

Romano revealed on Twitter that Serie A outfit Napoli have tabled a proposal to take Tuanzebe on loan for the second half of the campaign, offering United a loan fee of €400,000 (£336,220), but the Red Devils are asking for €1m (£840,550), with the defender reportedly accepting the proposed move to Italy.

The journalist tweeted: "Manchester United want €1m for Axel Tuanzebe loan to Napoli until the end of the season. Current proposal is around €400k, talks progressing.

"The player has accepted to join Napoli and he's waiting to see what happens, as Aston Villa too."

The verdict

Tuanzebe's Premier League opportunities may have been limited, but it would be a blow for Gerrard to lose him.

The Villa manager said ahead of the trip to Brentford that he 'would be delighted to keep him', not just until the end of the season but beyond that as well. However, he did concede that it was 'very much in Ax's hands and Manchester United's hands'.

Gerrard's predecessor Dean Smith also raved about the 24-year-old, hailing his 'unbelievable attitude'  and describing him as 'future captain' material, but perhaps he didn't play him enough if Tuanzebe is ready to jump at the chance to spend the rest of the season at Napoli.

In other news, many Villa fans react to links with this Premier League midfielder