The last time a Manchester United centre back moved on loan to a Serie A side they returned to Carrington looking a significantly better defender.
For Chris Smalling, the temporary move to Roma was only ever going to be a shop window to find a permanent exit from Old Trafford. But Axel Tuanzebe will hope he can use his six months in Italy to keep his ambition of becoming a fixture at United alive.
Smalling was 29 when he went to Roma in 2019/20 but he did look to improve for the experience and the same club were desperate to sign him a year later. He remains a fixture under Jose Mourinho, starting eight of Roma's last nine fixtures in all competitions.
He left Old Trafford knowing that chances were going to be limited for a centre back and at the moment Tuanzebe is heading towards a similar conclusion. He is 24, is a highly-regarded academy prospect but he's failed to make an impact at Aston Villa this season.
Tuanzebe made 11 appearances for Villa in what was supposed to be a season-long loan, but there were only six Premier League starts and none since Steven Gerrard replaced Dean Smith. He is now moving to a big European club that are still in contention for the Serie A title this season and have a Europa League tie with Barcelona to look forward to.
This is a chance for Tuanzebe to play competitive and testing games on a regular basis but it's also an opportunity to learn. Serie A is still a league that prides itself on defenders and Lucanio Spalleti will expect improvement out of the loanee during his time in Italy.
But it's also a fascinating league now, perhaps the most competitive in Europe and far more attacking than it used to be. If he's starting games Tuanzebe will be tested on a regular basis.
He certainly has to return to Carrington having benefitted and improved for the experience. Having turned 24 in November the centre back has only made 83 senior career appearances and while players in Tuanzebe's position tend to mature later, he is in need of a run of fixtures.
When he returned from his successful loan at Villa Park in 2018/19 he was kept at United, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signing his praises, and he did make 29 appearances across 2019/20 and 2020/21, including bizarrely captaining the side against Rochdale in the Carabao Cup.
But he never quite left the impression he was going to challenge for a starting spot and a costly mistake in the defeat to Sheffield United just under a year ago damaged his confidence. He looked more assured towards the end of the season when starting against Leicester City and Wolves in much-changed teams, but he remained fourth choice.
The summer signing of Raphael Varane nudged him further down the selection order and Varane, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof the leading centre backs at the club. Eric Bailly is currently the fourth choice but the Ivorian is likely to be keen to move on in search of regular game time, so there might be a squad slot to fill.
But United have high hopes for Tuanzebe's fellow academy graduate, Teden Mengi. The 19-year-old has joined Birmingham City on loan and while there might be one more loan for him next year, he probably isn't far off being considered for a first-team role.
Tuanzebe's loan at Villa clearly needed to be cut short and a move to Napoli is an upgrade. This is his chance to show he can stake a claim at Old Trafford. It's a big six months.
