At one stage this young winger was fought for by various international sides as they wanted him to choose their country, he was even considered as one of the brightest young talents in the world and he was linked to big clubs or a move away from his English home. Adnan Januzaj had the world in his hands last season and people expected him to do great things this season, however things have not gone the right way for the 20 year old this season.
The decision by Louis Van Gaal and his chance in the system have really affected the youngster, Januzaj was the go to guy last season under David Moyes and he was shining brightly as he did a pretty good job by making roughly 35 appearances last season. This season, he has only made 13 appearances so far and a lot of them have come as a substitute.
No country for young men
Louis Van Gaal was given a war chest to buy players and boy did he use it, with the signing of Angel Di Maria, the complexion changed for Adnan. He fell down the pecking order for Van Gaal, who prefers to play with wingbacks and since Di Maria has experience in that position, he became a first team player for that position, well Di Maria would have been first choice for any system that a manager would set up.
It is not like Januzaj was not given a chance to impress Van Gaal, sadly when he does make an appearance, something seems wrong for him. We all remember that torrid time he had when he was played as a wingback against Stoke City and he was given a horrible time by Jon Walters. There always was a doubt about his physical ability but that is not something that Januzaj is particularly known for.
Januzaj needs to play more in the wings, he cannot provide a lot of defensive cover and this is where he has gotten lost in his time at Manchester United, Van Gaal wants players to track back and defend more, and even Rooney is having to play in a more midfield oriented role rather than as a striker. Januzaj might not be able to do all that and it seems it could be the end of the road for the young player, Manchester United took care of another young talent by selling him, yes Wilfried Zaha was sold back to Crystal Palace in the transfer window after failing to impress at Manchester United and it seems that time is running out for Januzaj as well.