Town defender Axel Tuanzebe is undergoing a medical at newly promoted Premier League Burnley.

The right-sided centre-half or right-back is out of contract this summer and, as first reported by The Athletic, is set to join the Clarets as a free agent.

The 27-year-old was offered new lucrative terms by the Blues but ultimately wanted to remain in the Premier League.

The DR Congo international joins fellow free agent Cameron Burgess in leaving the club having turned down a new deal, the Australian international defender having signed for Championship Swansea City earlier this month.

Turkish reports yesterday claimed Trabzonspor had pulled out of a move for Tuanzebe due to concerns regarding his fitness giving fans hope that the former Manchester United man might stay at Portman Road. However, those hopes have now been dashed

The defender, who grew up in the North West, has been a key player over the past two seasons, despite injury sidelining him for a fair chunk of 2024/25.

Tuanzebe made 20 Premier League starts and two sub appearances for the Blues having suffered a freak hand injury and hamstring issues over the course of the campaign.

In total, Bunia-born Tuanzebe made 40 starts and five sub appearances for Town, scoring one goal, having signed on a free transfer after leaving Old Trafford in the summer of 2023.

Photo: TWTD

JonDouglas4Ballondor added 16:53 - Jun 26 Awful news, squads being picked apart here and probably out best 1 on 1 defender gone. Really need to go some signings in ASAP
-17

Welshblue72 added 16:54 - Jun 26 I stick with what I said yesterday. Obviously our offer not good enough for him. Let him go if that’s the case and we look elsewhere
21

bugblatter added 16:55 - Jun 26 I don't feel so bad about missing him off my Sgt Pepper revisited design for Call me Ted now. Or perhaps that’s why he left, and it’s all my fault! Sorry Axel.
11

smithlarr added 16:55 - Jun 26 Shame to see him go, a key part of getting us to the prem; but his injury record is horrendous, hopefully we get a more reliable replacement
17

runningout added 16:55 - Jun 26 Good luck to Axel. Hope he does well
7

cressi added 16:55 - Jun 26 I said his other half wanted to go up north and hadn't settled down here although a decent player I'm not to bothered as we would struggle to get 30 games out of him over a season. We move on and find a alternative as Johnson and Clarke are poor defensively OK attacking.
5

floridaboy added 16:57 - Jun 26 Hope they have a very thorough medical system at Burnley. Injury prone unfortunately but if he passes then good luck and we move on!
3

ITFCSG added 17:00 - Jun 26 Can we send Muric back to Burnley instead?
14

barrystedmunds added 17:00 - Jun 26 Not looking for a keeper as well are they?
10

1960H added 17:05 - Jun 26 As others have said, injury prone and I think can sometimes make rash challenges due to poor decision making, good luck to him we move on
1

fifeblue added 17:08 - Jun 26 He may end up rivalling Hermann Hreidarsson by being relegated with multiple clubs eventually because Burnley have no chance of staying up.
4

blueboy1981 added 17:09 - Jun 26 …… and the Exit continues !!!
-11

baxterbasics added 17:11 - Jun 26 Noooooo
0

WhoisJimmyJuan added 17:12 - Jun 26 I won't berate him for leaving us. But given the effort put in to his rehabilitation by our club I shan't wish him all the best either. Thank you for what you contributed Axel but we move on. Dara extending his contract offsets any feelings of disappointment for me anyway.
9

blueboy1981 added 17:13 - Jun 26 …… Wake Up Dreamboats - without signings the Squad continues to decimate … !! And not even you can disagree with that !!
-14

LegendofthePhoenix added 17:14 - Jun 26 Disappointing to lose Axel and that he didn't want to repay some of the loyalty we showed him throughout his rehab. Hopefully we will give him a wave on the way past in 12 months' time.
5

victorysquad added 17:15 - Jun 26 Ouch, big loss, no doubt about it a top Premier level player. The impact of relegation rumbles on.
3

DeliasMashedPotato added 17:15 - Jun 26 Gutted. Oh well maybe we will get him back when us and Burnley swap places next year!!
2

Mariner1974 added 17:15 - Jun 26 Real shame...we were alot better when he was fit and firing last season. Made the difference when we had him. Still sadly we're at the whim when a player is out of contract and newly promoted club come calling. Who do West Brom play at right back? We do alright with those ex-Baggies. This is a blow....
2

Portman_Pie added 17:16 - Jun 26 No real surprise at all - it's looked like he hasn't wanted to commit to us for quite some time, and therefore no real disappointment that he's one moving on. Hoping Clarke and Johnson can shine next season - I'd love either to really step up to the plate and command that position.
3

Tractorboy58 added 17:17 - Jun 26 I actually think Harry Clarke and Ben Johnson will do well at RB in the Championship - also now can concentrate on the 3 or 4 quality additions needed - at least 1 centre mid and i striker -much as Axel was good he was far too injury prone
3

RobsonWark added 17:19 - Jun 26 What a d1ck. Turning down a new lucrative deal just to be in the Premier League for one more season. Let's face it...Burnley will come straight back down. No long term thinking from him and his agent. Was one of my favourite players when in the team.
0

Ravanelly added 17:19 - Jun 26 Disappointed in him. He missed a big chunk of last season because of a self inflicted injury, bet he was still paid. He owed us.
6

fifeblue added 17:20 - Jun 26 Town do not need new defenders. They need a midfield.
4

GSH71 added 17:21 - Jun 26 i think he was a money grabber ,he was on the highest wage when we were in the championship , and was out injured a lot . he was too slow even in the championship.
0

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