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Mourinho has revealed that reserve-team captain Axel Tuanzebe could be
close to making an appearance for the Manchester United first side.
The talented 19-year-old, who was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo but grew up in Rochdale, has dual British nationality, and trained with the senior side this week.
And with the January departures of Memphis Depay and Morgan Schneiderlin, Mourinho admits Tuanzebe is one player he would be happy to promote.
During an interview with MUTV, Mourinho said there was a likelihood of including Tuanzebe in upcoming games.
He said: "He can. We lost Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay, two players who didn't play many minutes or many matches for us.
"They were two players from the squad, so we need numbers and probably Axel is one of the boys that's in the Academy who is more close to playing with us.
"So we have brought him up to give him more experience, to make the first team more natural for him in case we need him to play in the upcoming matches and month, so he can be more adapted to us."
Mourinho had previously praised the young star for his substitute appearance in a pre-season friendly against Wigan by saying "10 minutes is enough to see his potential".
United have a congested fixture list coming up in the next month that will see Mourinho's men compete in the league, FA Cup, a likely League Cup final and the Europa League.
The Portuguese coach who has been fortunate with injuries so far this season as he has drastically reduced the number of injuries suffered by his squad, could see his playing resources stretched if a few players suffer injuries.
