Louis van Gaal is done with Adnan Januzaj at Manchester United
Apparently Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United youth movement doesn’t apply to winger Adnan Januzaj
You’ll have to forgive Adnan Januzaj if he doesn’t believe that Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is all about playing the club’s youth. The 21-year-old attacker has been completely frozen out of the first team squad by the Dutch manager.
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The Mirror reports that the tension between Januzaj and van Gaal reached its zenith over a row regarding the winger’s attitude during a youth game in late February. The talented wide man hasn’t featured for United’s first team since the disagreement. Furthermore, it’s likely that van Gaal will sanction a sale of Januzaj in the summer provided he remains in charge at Old Trafford.
Many believe the real reason that van Gaal isn’t keen on playing Januzaj is because the youngster disobeyed him and forced a loan move to Borussia Dortmund earlier this year. Van Gaal was adamant that he would be better off staying in England and fighting for his place. Instead, Januzaj defied his manager and headed to the Bundesliga. He failed to impress for Dortmund and returned to United during the winter transfer window.
That betrayal of sorts, put Januzaj in a tough spot with his manager. It’s hard to win back your boss’ trust after you defy them so openly. When he returned to the club he couldn’t afford any sign of insolence or unprofessionalism and now he’s paying for what was likely a pretty minor transgression.
It’s no coincidence that both Januzaj and teammate Andreas Pereira are both being punished in the same manner for the same alleged reason. Pereira openly longed for a loan move away from the club during the winter window.
Whether or not Januzaj could improve the situation on the pitch at Old Trafford is unclear. He’s painfully thin and struggles to deal with the physical nature of the Premier League. On the other hand, he’s got deft touch with the ball at his feet and he can create excellent opportunities for his teammates. It stands to reason that he could be an asset to the team in select match-ups at the very least.
You have to believe the Belgian winger is seething at his treatment under the Dutch manager. Just a year ago he seemed to have real career momentum and would have been dreaming of playing a big role for Belgium in Euro 2016. Now he’s a long-shot to even make the team.
Adding insult to injury is the fact that van Gaal has been celebrated as of late for bringing scores of youth players into the first-team setup. Januzaj certainly has at least as much talent as the parade of youngsters van Gaal has utilized as of late. Would van Gaal really have us believe Januzaj isn’t a superior option than a player like James Weir?
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No matter what we think, it’s clear that Adnan Januzaj’s career at United is in serious jeopardy if van Gaal remains in charge. Bet heavily against these two both being with the Premier League club when the summer transfer window slams shut.