At the end of last week, Manchester United’s Belgian winger Adnan Januzaj was loaned to Sunderland. This might be the best move he has ever made. On Wearside, he’ll be reunited with the manager who gave him his debut, David Moyes. At the Stadium of Light, he’ll be coached by a man who clearly has more faith in him than José Mourinho or Louis van Gaal.
Steady Decline
There is no doubt that Januzaj’s career has gone backwards since his debut season. His match-winning impact against Sunderland three years ago seemed to be the principal reason he was given a five year contract. The club thought they had another wonder-kid on their hands, and were clearly keen to avoid a repeat of the Paul Pogba situation.
Within two months of his full debut, he was nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. There was also a huge debate about which international team he would represent. In addition to Belgium, he was eligible to play for Kosovo, Serbia, Turkey and Albania. Roy Hodgson even admitted he was monitoring the situation in case he became an English citizen. Januzaj chose Belgium, the country of his birth, and was called up to the squad for the 2014 World Cup.
He was one of the few positives of the ill-fated Moyes era. Januzaj is clearly a player who prefers to be given the freedom to express himself. From his point of view, Louis van Gaal was probably the worst coach he could have played under at that point. The rigid, risk-free system of the Dutchman alienated most of United’s creative players. In van Gaal’s first season, Januzaj started just eight games. The majority of these were in successive games when United had a number of injuries.
There was plenty of hope last season when the Belgian scored the winner against Aston Villa. It was his first goal for over a year, and he started four of United’s first five matches. It was somewhat of a surprise when he was suddenly loaned to Borussia Dortmund. What nobody knew back then, however, that his replacement would be Anthony Martial. The Frenchman was signed the following day, and so far looks twice the player that Januzaj will ever be.
Why didn’t the Dortmund deal work out?
The reports coming back from Dortmund were not good. Reports were surfacing that he did not have the right attitude to training. There was also talk that he felt he deserved to walk into the team, having come from Old Trafford.
In reality the move to Dortmund didn’t make much sense. In order to know whether he has a future at United, he needs to be regularly playing Premier League football. Playing in the Bundesliga was never likely to help him with that. It is a different pace from the English game, and much less physical. It would have more than likely helped his career had he stayed in England. With his reputation, it was unlikely there would have a shortage of suitors.
Dortmund terminated his loan after just four months, and he returned to United. He had featured just twelve times, with only three of them from the starting line-up. He made just three further appearances upon his return, all of them as a substitute. It was no surprise when he was not selected for Euro 2016.
Reunited with David Moyes
There are so many reasons why this deal could be beneficial for all parties. The most obvious is that he is more likely to play regularly. It’s been more than two years since Januzaj has been a regular in the Premier League. If he wants to make an impression at Old Trafford, being able to perform consistently at that level is the first hurdle he must overcome.
Another plus for the Belgian is the confidence he will gain from playing for David Moyes again. Playing for someone who believes in him will encourage him to play his natural game. His former manager at United makes no secret of his admiration of Januzaj’s talents. It was during his stewardship that he was handed a five year deal. With this in mind, it would be no surprise if Moyes decided to make him a focal point of his team. The fact that two of his team mates, Paddy McNair and Donald Love, have recently made permanent moves to the same club should help him to settle in quickly.
It is also worth noting that there will be less competition blocking his path at Sunderland. Januzaj can be deployed on the wing or in the number ten role. At Old Trafford, he would be competing with a number of players in both positions. Anthony Martial, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Memphis Depay and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are all ahead of him. Even Ashley Young, yet to feature under Mourinho, is probably higher in the pecking order.
Had he stayed at United, the chances are that he would have had very few opportunities. Furthermore, he would have had to make the most of these chances when they presented themselves. Sunderland do not have too many options in Januzaj’s favoured positions. The disgraced Adam Johnson’s departure is one of the reasons why they are rather light on the flanks. The experience he will gain from being an important first team player, as opposed to a bit-part one, could prove to be invaluable.
Jonny Evans, Danny Welbeck and Danny Simpson all spent loan periods on Wearside from United. All of them would no doubt say that the experience helped their careers. Welbeck returned to Old Trafford having added a lot of muscle mass, and went straight into the first team. A title winner in 2013, he joined Arsenal a year later. Arsène Wenger was quoted as being “devastated” at the knee injury that will keep him out until 2017.
Evans spent two loan spells at the Stadium of Light, one of them during their Championship winning season of 2006-07. He returned there the following season and helped them avoid relegation. Sunderland wanted to keep him permanently but Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn’t hear of it. Evans went on to win three Premier League titles before joining West Bromwich Albion last summer.
Simpson has had more of a journeyman’s career by contrast. He also collected a Championship winners’ medal during his time at Sunderland. Unable to break into the first team at Old Trafford, he moved to Newcastle and then Q.P.R. He joined Leicester City in 2014 and became an important part of their surprise Premier League success last season.
Januzaj should look to each of those three players and see this deal as a positive. All of them went onto varying degrees of success following their time at Sunderland. If he applies himself correctly, there is no reason why Januzaj cannot do the same.
Sunderland loan can make or break the career of Adnan Januzaj
The Belgian made his debut as a substitute in Sunderland’s 2 – 1 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday. Having only joined the previous day, it was unlikely that he would go immediately into the team.
Mourinho insists that Adnan Januzaj is still in his plans for the future, but this could well be his last chance. He has the opportunity to impress when he is a first team regular at a club with far less expectation than United. If he cannot do this, it’s unlikely that he will make the step up to be the player many predicted he would be.
