Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has revealed that he sees a long-term future at the club for Axel Tuanzebe.
The Manchester United loanee has made six starts and three substitute outings in the Premier League this season, but just a brief cameo appearance has been made since Gerrard's arrival in November.
Earlier this week, reports emerged that Napoli were keen to take over the deal in January, and have allegedly made contact with the player's parent club.
While acknowledging that the 24-year-old could move to Italy, Gerrard has said that he wants to keep the centre-back at Villa Park past the end of this season.
Gerrard is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: "It's very much in Ax's hands and Manchester United's hands. We want him here, we would be delighted to keep him. We don't just see it as a loan until the end of the season.
"It's something we want to explore further than that. We just hope we've got that opportunity. He's a player we like very much and we'd like him to stay until the end of the season at least. Axel is his own man and will want to make his own decision."
Tuanzebe is currently in line to start against Brentford on Sunday as a result of Tyrone Mings's suspension.
Darren Plant
