[caisenma]

tis the season.

whether he gets deployed as a striker or any of the positions behind it, here's to hoping adnan forgets what happened last year and goes back to the promise he displayed in his first season.

having a good preseason will be absolutely key for him.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

He still looks the same physically as he did when he broke through, I'm hoping for him to take a step forward and if di Maria leaves, hopefully he gets proper playing time.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

May just be me, but I'm after watching footage of the latest training footage and it looks to me that he's bulked up.

 

[El-Manos]

Looking forward to him this season, massive potential.

 

[khoazany]

May just be me, but I'm after watching footage of the latest training footage and it looks to me that he's bulked up.

He'll be 21 next Feb so perhaps it's time!

 

[bosnian_red]

May just be me, but I'm after watching footage of the latest training footage and it looks to me that he's bulked up.

Much needed... Especially if he gets games up front. Hopefully he kicks on this season, he'll get a lot more chances then last season I think.

 

[SoCross]

Reminded me strangely of a young Ronaldo today

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Not a great game for either him or Wilson.

 

[Freak]

Thought he was decent today. Glimpses of his talent.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Definitely bulked up, also starting to stay on his feet more.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Not a great game for either him or Wilson.

He was far better than Wilson who was pretty poor.

Still think he's playing too much as an attacker. Almost a second striker today.

 

[Raptori]

Reminded me strangely of a young Ronaldo today

Januzaj can be young Ronaldo, Depay can be prolific Ronaldo. Both at the same time...

 

[sport2793]

Not sure why some people are slagging of Januzaj's performance when his hold up play was the best of any of the front men today. Also showed willingness to make runs behind the defence and moved the ball quickly when he needed to. Created a chance out of nothing also, using his new-found bulk.

 

[SoCross]

Januzaj can be young Ronaldo, Depay can be prolific Ronaldo. Both at the same time...

Before this game I thought Januzaj might not feature as much this season and push for a move due a lack of game time but I think he's going to make a strong case for himself. Boy's growing up.

 

[Walrus]

I like Januzaj's versatility - I can see him being useful out wide, at #10 or as a false 9.

Really hope he has a massive season this year and is given the chance to do so.

 

[SambaBoy]

I've completely forgot about Januzaj. I still feel he's one of the best youngsters in the world, he didn't get a proper chance last season most likely due to the balance of the squad and lack of games.

I wouldn't mind to see him as a number 9 with the lack of striker options we have. He's played there for the reserves and looked quite sharp, he's not going to bully any CB's but he can go in behind or drop deep and run from there. He's got everything in his locker to be one of the best in his position, he can beat defenders from a starting position and has plenty of tricks to leave them standing. In addition, his vision is top class, he just needs to add consistency to that and choose the right moments to play the killer ball. His shooting is akin to Nani's, sometimes wild but naturally a good finisher.

It seemed last season that he was trying to hard to impress which led to him shooting from impossible angles or being selfish but I'm sure with more game time he will develop into a top player. If not, we need to loan him out so he doesn't stagnate. He's already had a taste of first team football now, he can't go back to the reserves.

 

[Striker10]

I think Adnan may go on loan and we keep Di Maria. He looked good when he came on, he just needs to get game time and keep working on getting stronger. I liked his performance though. He was unlucky not to score - eventually those chances will go in hopefully.

 

[Raoul]

I've completely forgot about Januzaj. I still feel he's one of the best youngsters in the world, he didn't get a proper chance last season most likely due to the balance of the squad and lack of games.

I wouldn't mind to see him as a number 9 with the lack of striker options we have. He's played there for the reserves and looked quite sharp, he's not going to bully any CB's but he can go in behind or drop deep and run from there. He's got everything in his locker to be one of the best in his position, he can beat defenders from a starting position and has plenty of tricks to leave them standing. In addition, his vision is top class, he just needs to add consistency to that and choose the right moments to play the killer ball. His shooting is akin to Nani's, sometimes wild but naturally a good finisher.

It seemed last season that he was trying to hard to impress which led to him shooting from impossible angles or being selfish but I'm sure with more game time he will develop into a top player. If not, we need to loan him out so he doesn't stagnate. He's already had a taste of first team football now, he can't go back to the reserves.

Why ? He's certainly talented, but excepting a handful of games under Moyes, he has not shown any indication that he is improving over the past 20 months or so.

 

[In Rainbows]

Januzaj needs to be on the ball more and have some sort of freedom to pull the strings. Out of the youth players we have he's the best at it. It's a shame that he keeps getting played in positions where he sees so little of the ball. Sometimes I feel his all around ability could be a detriment to his progress. Gribbin is a similar player.

 

[Lou-is Red]

Thought he looked good, and improved physically it seemed. Think he will have a much better season, hope his confidence grows because it seemed it was back

 

[Adam-Utd]

If we isn't used much this year I think he should go on a loan, he's grown quite a bit recently and looks pretty tall now, certainly has got Stronger too. I think he could grow to be a pastore/kaka type CAM, but he really does need games now. Looked sharp with Wilson and Pereira anyway.

 

[El-Manos]

So easily forgotten what this young lad is capable of.

 

[Americano]

May just be me, but I'm after watching footage of the latest training footage and it looks to me that he's bulked up.

I agree with that, I think his upper body looks thicker than before.

 

[Baxter]

So easily forgotten what this young lad is capable of.

Really is a super talent. Hopefully it's a clean slate for him this year and gets games and kicks on.

 

[bosnian_red]

Thought he looked good the other day.. Surprised some were criticizing him. He looked a lot more confident then last season, and bulkier, and that was the main problem from last year IMO. He just had no confidence so his performances suffered. Clearly has loads of talent, just needs to have the confidence to try things and not run down blind alleys all the time.

 

[IrishLegend]

I hope he gets a loan to somewhere like Watford. They're building a good team and he's at a level he would be able to play every week and be one of the focuses of the team.

Him behind Deeney or Vydra would be great.

 

[tom porter]

May just be me, but I'm after watching footage of the latest training footage and it looks to me that he's bulked up.

Agree with this. He looks significantly stronger to me. Read an interview Luke Shaw did with mutv about both of them bringing one of the trainers with them on vacation to Dubai.

 

[RooneyLegend]

He's the player we should build our team around. He needs to be played like how Zidane was used during his career. Can we stop using him as some runner and let him run the show. If we don't do that, he won't fulfil his potential here and we've seen the consequences of letting extremely talented youngsters go. He's imo the player with the biggest upside in the whole squad, let's treat him like he is.

 

[Cina]

He's the player we should build our team around. He needs to be played like how Zidane was used during his career. Can we stop using him as some runner and let him run the show. If we don't do that, he won't fulfil his potential here and we've seen the consequences of letting extremely talented youngsters go. He's imo the player with the biggest upside in the whole squad, let's treat him like he is.

Building your team around a teenager who hasn't proven anything yet?

Seems legit.

 

[caisenma]

Building your team around a teenager who hasn't proven anything yet?

Seems legit.

i think he proved a few things in his first year, don't you?

but suffice to say last year wasn't good by pretty much anybody's standards, so he'd best be getting on with things this year if he wants to have a chance here. just not sure how guys like him and periera will get a chance to show their worth if we're constantly buying players in their positions. i know we're united and we need to be the best, and that requires buying top talent pretty much every window, but i hope our own guys not only get a chance to show their worth but take that chance too.

 

[ChaddyP]

Prefer him on the wings taking on people. Much more entertaining than playing #10

 

[Cina]

i think he proved a few things in his first year, don't you?

but suffice to say last year wasn't good by pretty much anybody's standards, so he'd best be getting on with things this year if he wants to have a chance here. just not sure how guys like him and periera will get a chance to show their worth if we're constantly buying players in their positions. i know we're united and we need to be the best, and that requires buying top talent pretty much every window, but i hope our own guys not only get a chance to show their worth but take that chance too.

he proved he's a talented young chap, definitely, but certainly not worthy of building our entire fecking team around. That's just ludicrous. Very few players should be afforded that privilege, and certainly not when they're teenagers. Ronaldo is the last player Fergie truly built a team around (although Rooney was the focal point for some spells too) and that wasn't until after his fourth season where he won POTY.

 

[caisenma]

he proved he's a talented young chap, definitely, but certainly not worthy of building our entire fecking team around. That's just ludicrous. Very few players should be afforded that privilege, and certainly not when they're teenagers. Ronaldo is the last player Fergie truly built a team around (although Rooney was the focal point for some spells too) and that wasn't until after his fourth season where he won POTY.

all fair enough, and to be clear i don't think we should be building our team around januzaj either. i'd hope that most would agree that unless you have messi or ronaldo, it's daft to build a team around a single player for a whole set of reasons.

 

[RooneyLegend]

Building your team around a teenager who hasn't proven anything yet?

Seems legit.

When the teenager is as talented as he is, its worth it.

 

[Sarni]

He's the player we should build our team around. He needs to be played like how Zidane was used during his career. Can we stop using him as some runner and let him run the show. If we don't do that, he won't fulfil his potential here and we've seen the consequences of letting extremely talented youngsters go. He's imo the player with the biggest upside in the whole squad, let's treat him like he is.

God.

He is so far from the level you seem to think he is it's unimaginable.

 

[Kag]

RooneyLegend is prone to the odd wacky player observation but he isn't too far wrong here.

We're in no position to build around Januzaj as of now, that's an exaggeration. Personally, I think he desperately needs a loan at a club that will offer him game time centrally. When given that freedom I think he'll turn out into something really quite brilliant. The raw talent and intuition is overwhelmingly evident, and I hope it's here at United he progresses. If it's not us, it will be some other club that takes the initiative and plays him through the centre.

End product would have to improve a lot, however. His finishing isn't up to par.

 

[RooneyLegend]

God.

He is so far from the level you seem to think he is it's unimaginable.

You'd think that because of how he's been used in this team. Player usage is very very important to said players ability to reach their full potential. Since he's started player he's literally only played one match the way I mention, and that causes him to try things that don't come natural to him. This then causes him to make mistakes and have people on this forum calling him over hyped and all sorts of other nonsense.

When Zidane moved to Juventus, they didn't know what to do with him. For the first few months no one was impressed as Lippi for reasons unknown to mankind was trying to turn him into a Redondo like player. He then started using him correctly and the rest as they say is history.

It makes a big difference and its the reason why some on here fail to recognise just how much potential this kid has. Thinking he's ryan giggs in the making is absurd. We should be thinking Riquelme, Zidane, Iniesta, Valderama, Valeron, Valdivia with him, instead we have a inconsistent winger who can't even decide when to cross the ball or pass.

We've developed 3 of these types of players in recent years(Morrison, Daehli, and Januzaj), signed 2 other one's(Kagawa and Anderson) before them but unfortunately none has been used that way they've all predictably failed and our midfield as a unit has suffered.

 

[Sarni]

You'd think that because of how he's been used in this team. Player usage is very very important to said players ability to reach their full potential. Since he's started player he's literally only played one match the way I mention, and that causes him to try things that don't come natural to him. This then causes him to make mistakes and have people on this forum calling him over hyped and all sorts of other nonsense.

When Zidane moved to Juventus, they didn't know what to do with him. For the first few months no one was impressed as Lippi for reasons unknown to mankind was trying to turn him into a Redondo like player. He then started using him correctly and the rest as they say is history.

It makes a big difference and its the reason why some on here fail to recognise just how much potential this kid has. Thinking he's ryan giggs in the making is absurd. We should be thinking Riquelme, Zidane, Iniesta, Valderama, Valeron, Valdivia with him, instead we have a inconsistent winger who can't even decide when to cross the ball or pass.

We've developed 3 of these types of players in recent years(Morrison, Daehli, and Januzaj), signed 2 other one's(Kagawa and Anderson) before them but unfortunately none has been used that way they've all predictably failed and our midfield as a unit has suffered.

He had a decent debut season in which I think he was not as good as people seem to believe (some seemed to have had him on the talent level of Ronaldo, Messi, even Robben when he didn't really show that sort of potential). Very good and definitely showed great signs of promise but it wasn't completely flawless and it's not like his last season popped out of nowhere - there were also times when he struggled in his first season and it was evident last season that he's still some distance behind the level a first team regular winger of Man Utd should be at. First season put some unnecessary pressure on the kid too.

I find comparisons with Zidane or Ronaldo a bit silly because they all seem to stem from the fact that he has struggled a bit in his early career. Not every player that struggles in his early career ends up being the best player in the world, actually nothing in the fact of struggling in the early stage points to the fact that they're going to be world class, quite the contrary and majority of struggling teenagers don't really end up at world class level.

He has some potential clearly and I believe he could easily reach a level where he would be a regular at United because there's a very good player there. He has plenty of distance to go before he reaches that level though and we should definitely not build a team around him at the moment.

 

[prateik]

Adnan and Shaw had a club trainer in Dubai during their vacations to help them train and come back fitter for the pre season...
He is trying... hope he gets his chance..

 

[Tomuś]

He had a decent debut season in which I think he was not as good as people seem to believe (some seemed to have had him on the talent level of Ronaldo, Messi, even Robben when he didn't really show that sort of potential). Very good and definitely showed great signs of promise but it wasn't completely flawless and it's not like his last season popped out of nowhere - there were also times when he struggled in his first season and it was evident last season that he's still some distance behind the level a first team regular winger of Man Utd should be at. First season put some unnecessary pressure on the kid too.

Cannot agree with all of that. His first season considering he was still 18 (?) and was playing in a shambles of a team formations where he was constantly isolated on the wings was all in all v.good, not decent. His footballing brain seemed more developed than Ronaldo's at 18. He was dribbling, crossing, playing through balls and chipped in with some good and important goals. There was every reason to suggest he's an exceptional talent. Easy to rubbish Ronaldo comparisons having the benefit of knowledge what has he become but for every Ronaldo who made it you've got Quaresma who didn't and he was just as highly rated in the youth Portugal NT sides. I think it's fair to say Januzaj's influence at 18 was as meaningful as Ronaldo's first season when he came here. Doesn't mean he's as talented, though.

I think that season drained him and this is the point where I agree with you. He was carrying us on his shoulders in some games and everyone was like 'imagine next season'. It went downhill from there unfortunately but he's still extremely young for a squad player at Manchester United and he will improve. Van Gaal will find a position for him, he's got a good track at that. Aforementioned Robben didn't know his position when he was 18 and it was Van Gaal who suggested he moved from striker to wing position.