Manchester United youth player Axel Tuanzebe has been chosen to captain the Red Devils tonight in their Carabao Cup tie versus Rochdale.

The 21-year-old centre-back has been handed the armband ahead of senior players Jesse Lingard, Paul Pogba and Phil Jones.

Tuanzebe has captained United's youth teams at every single level and is one of the brightest prospects to emerge from the academy in recent years.

He excelled on loan at Aston Villa last season and there is genuine hope that he can force his way into the Red Devils' first-team setup on a permanent basis this season.

But you have to spare a thought for both Lingard and Pogba.

The latter captained the side at times last season, but was ousted from the role by Jose Mourinho after the pair's falling out.

It seems Solskjaer is respecting the decision made by his predecessor.

United journalist Andy Mitten tried to explain the decision to hand Tuanzebe the captaincy against Rochdale.

He tweeted: "Axel Tuanzebe had captained MUFC at every age level bar the first team. Tonight he captains the first team against Rochdale, the town where he grew up in after arriving from DR Congo aged four - with no English, only French and Lingala. At 16 he got As and A stars in his GCSEs."

Nevertheless, it's still a big call from Solskjaer.