Man Utd secured the services of Adnan Januzaj, joining the club as a 16 year old from Anderlecht, but as so many young prospects, he never settled to become a proven player in the red shirt.
He was softly introduced to first team action by Sir Alex Ferguson, and later making his full senior debut under the wings of David Moyes. But was less used as Van Gaal and Mourinho in a way overlooked the young Belgian in their time in charge at Old Trafford.
Adnan Januzaj made his competitive debut for Manchester United against Wigan Athletic on 11 August 2013 in the Community Shield, coming on for Robin van Persie with six minutes left to play. He made his Premier League debut a month later, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for Ashley Young in a 2–0 home win over Crystal Palace on 14 September.
Strangely Januzaj was left out of Manchester United’s initial squad for the UEFA Champions League when it was registered in September 2013, which came as a surprise to some members of the media after his impressive start to the season.
Januzai had in a way a brilliant start at Man Utd, and could have climbed towards great international recognition, but it was all set on hold for a little while, having to make a choice on the nation to choose.
On 23 April 2014, Belgian boss Marc Wilmots announced that Januzaj had committed himself to the Belgium national team. On 13 May 2014, Januzaj was included in Belgium’s 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played a first game with the national team two weeks later in a match against Luxembourg, but he did not earn his first cap; the match was considered unofficial by FIFA on 4 June because Belgian coach Marc Wilmots made 7 substitutions while only 6 are allowed in international friendlies. His official debut came in the next warm-up game, a 1–0 win over Tunisia on 7 June, replacing Eden Hazard after 73 minutes. In November 2017, Januzaj was recalled to the Belgian squad for the first time in three years ahead of friendlies against Mexico and Japan, but did not play. In June, he was named by Roberto Martínez in the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. In the final group game against England in Kaliningrad, he scored the only goal as the Belgians advanced as group winners.
Januzai played a total of 63 official first team games for Man Utd, scoring 5 goals. Then in 2017 made a move to Real Sociedad, moving to Sevilla in 2022, and this season being loaned out to Las Palmas. So far he has been involved in 4 games for the Gran Canaria club. He last played on the 5th of October in a home fixture vs. Celta Vigo, losing 1-0. Las Palmas is currently sitting at the bottom of the La Liga table with 3 points in 9 games.
Still only 29 years of age, and in a way in his prime as a footballer, few had possibly believed that one of the major prospect of European football 10 years ago, has in a way vanished from the top schene, and his potential overlooked and shadow by the major clubs, since leaving Man Utd. Adnan Januzaj had his difficulties in decision making, not really bringing his international career to a level of expectations with Belgium, as well as being part of a time at Man Utd when management changes really upset a number of careers in the game.
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