It was one of the most vaunted young careers in football.
When Adnan Januzaj hit the scene at Manchester United he looked as if he could be a world-beater.
Illustrious names such as Robin van Persie were praising him to the hilt. The Dutchman said at the time:
“He’s a great player and I’m a great fan of his,” “I thought earlier in pre-season that he has something special.
“Over the years I’ve seen so many young players and I can honestly say that of all the young players I’ve seen he is right up there in the top one or two.
High praise indeed. But, as with so many players of great potential, somewhere along the line his career stalled.
Perhaps all that hype went to his head. Perhaps he couldn’t handle the pressure of playing for such a big club so young. Or perhaps his attitude has been a little awry. Most likely it’s a mix of the three.
But British media outlet, the Daily Mail, says that Manchester United are prepared to offload the wonder for good after a loan spell at Sunderland this season.
They say:
Manchester United are prepared to sell Adnan Januzaj this summer.
Januzaj has one year left on his contract and manager Jose Mourinho hinted last week that he has already made up his mind on the 22-year-old’s future.
He’s still only 22 and played 24 times for Sunderland with one goal this season. So he’s not exactly in a desperate situation. And the report states that there is interest from some of Europe’s biggest leagues.
But it’s a far cry from Brazil 2014 when the teenager was selected for a very strong Belgium side and got some minutes in the tournament.
TFF always felt that he lacked the pace to be a really top player. Hopefully he will prove us wrong. But maybe the Manchester United dream is over.