Born and raised in the Paris suburb of Bondy, Axel Tape played for FC 93 Bobigny until the age of 12. Then in summer 2020, nearby top club Paris Saint-Germain came calling.
The technically gifted, fast and versatile Tape progressed through all the youth ranks at the current French treble winners. In the season just gone, he primarily featured for the PSG U19 side and started in every UEFA Youth League match.
The 1.80-metre-tall youngster also got his first taste of senior football in the 2024/25 campaign. Having been included in Luis Enrique's squad for the first time in November, he made his debut in the Coupe de France in January, starting in the centre of defence alongside Lucas Hernandez.
After this successful professional debut, Tape also got the chance to impress at the end of the Ligue 1 season, playing 90 minutes at centre-back in both the 2-1 defeat to Racing Strasbourg on Matchday 32 and the 4-1 win over Montpellier HSC on Matchday 33.
As well as the treble of the Champions League, league and cup for the first team, Tape also celebrated the French U19 championship at the end of the season. He and his team-mates beat FC Nantes 2-1 in the final last weekend.
Bayer 04 managing director sport Simon Rolfes considers the French U18 international "a versatile defensive player, a good footballer with pace, athleticism and a sharp reading of the game. We see great potential in Axel."
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Bayer 04 have a score to settle with Borussia Mönchengladbach after their late equaliser in the reverse fixture. But it’s been a while since the points were shared in this fixture at Borussia-Park, where the Werkself have won their last six visits – their best run ever away at a team in the Bundesliga. Victory in Saturday evening’s game (18:30 CET) would also be the team’s fifth in a row in all competitions and their best run this season, while Gladbach are only just above the bottom three after going four games without a win. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the evening’s encounter in our matchday news.
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