The State of Januzaj

Last year, Adnan Januzaj was one of the few bright spots in a long and dreary season for the men in red. While many of the more senior players struggled to find their form under David Moyes, some going on to eventually voice their concerns, several younger players, including the likes of James Wilson, Tom Lawrence, and Adnan Januzaj made their first team debuts for the club. Januzaj showed impressive ability and a certain flair, leading many to believe he could someday be as great as Ronaldo.

Then things took a turn. After finishing in 7^th in the Premier League and being eliminated without a deep run in the FA Cup, League Cup, or Champions League, United parted ways with Moyes and eventually appointed the then Netherlands manager, Louis van Gaal. At the time, the new manager spelled promise for Januzaj, as van Gaal has been credited with the rise to stardom for several players, including, but not limited to, Xavi and Iniesta with Barca and Müller with Bayern.

Belgium made a deep run in the World Cup, eventually losing to future Red Devil Di Maria and Argentina in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, Januzaj only featured once against South Korea in the group stage with Belgium already having secured a spot in the next round. It’s likely that his lack of action may have had an impact on his level of involvement with United in the early days of the van Gaal regime.

LvG came into the United job under some pressure after a season marked by failure under Moyes, and as such he had to have felt it necessary to win games from the get go. The pressure to win meant relying on his best players, like Rooney, RvP, etc. Januzaj waited. And he waited. Yes, he made a substitute appearance in the opening game of the season, but his first start didn’t come until late October. The new Manchester United number 11, having taken the number after Giggs retired, seemed to be more of a rotational player for van Gaal than a go to player. It made sense at the time, with newly acquired Di Maria joining the squad and the formation LvG had been playing.

Recently, especially since the turn of the New Year, Januzaj has gained more playing time under van Gaal, perhaps due to a change from a 3-5-2 to a 4-4-2 with more room for wing players.  In the most recent three matches in the Premier League, Januzaj has started all three and played at least 60 minutes in each. Januzaj has brought flair and creativity back to a United squad who otherwise, aside from Di Maria, has been rather lackluster at times. It’s true, Januzaj seemingly has a propensity to take on multiple defenders or shoot from distance, but these habits will sure fade with more playing time.

At a club built on the foundation of promoting youth into the senior team, Januzaj, along with James Wilson, represents the likely future of Manchester United. While van Gaal will not be at the club nearly as long as Sir Alex Ferguson, his decision to continuously play Januzaj will have a significant impact on the team’s future. In my opinion, Januzaj must become a regular starter, not only for the good of this season and finishing in the top four, but also so he can develop into a world class player.

Credit to NBC Pro Soccer Talk for Image