Ronaldo got seriously fecking strong in the years he played for us. When he first came to Old Trafford he was actually quite slight. There's hope yet for Januzaj, and boy what a joy to watch. It makes it all so exciting. Feeling good about this guy
He's still really quick, deceptively fast. He's not lacking in pace at all IMO. He doesn't need to have the type of pace Ronaldo or Neymar have because of the way he plays. What attacking midfielder like him has Ronaldo or Neymar like pace? Look at the best or most promising ones right now, Ozil, Isco, Mata, Iniesta, Silva, Gotze, Cazorla, etc. None of them you would say are lighting quick, and none of them are slow at all either. Januzaj is probably quicker then all of them as well, so him lacking in pace isn't really a problem.
That also!
Mame Birame Diouf probably?
Definitely doesn't lack pace, and doesn't seem that weak either despite his build (I mean he's no Valencia of course but it looks like he can handle himself). There was an instance in second half, begun on the halfway line, he got on the ball, burst past a Norwich mannequi... player, brushed him off by shaping his body so that he'd have his shoulder to block the passage, and then sprinted off (finising with a shot just off target).
Yup, some were saying from pre season I remember to not expect him to make the same sort of impact in the league games, or to not expect him to look so good every time, that there will be frustrating performances. He's not that type of player at all though. I'd understand it if it was said about Zaha, but with Januzaj, he is so good on the ball and such an intelligent player, that those player hardly ever have those games where they frustrate you. He picks out the right option most of the time, and you can tell when he's on the wing he holds on to the ball sometimes waiting to spot a player to pass to, rather then just blindly hit it in like Young does 99% of the time.
I don't think him bulking up will make him any better really. His style of play doesn't call for him to be strong physically. He just needs to be tough on the ball and be able to ride challenges, sort of like Ramires does, or Messi. Both small and skinny but not weak. If he got bulked up like Ronaldo then he would definitely lose a lot of the deftness he has in his play now, and his agility.
I'd say that sums it up nicely yeah.
To be fair, that is simply too soon to say, because until now he has not played against a real top class defense. Formations, which have the ability to put enourmous amounts of pressure on single players. There are for example several systems which are build to immediatly double dangerous players, the most obvious being high movement and pressing systems (e.g. Barcelona, Bayern, Dortmund). He has also yet to show that his ability to glide past opposition works against high calibre defenders, who have better anticipation, positioning and tackling abilities than the ones he faced so far.
I agree completely, probably was too soon to say no matter the opposition, but as of now, he's had pretty much the same high standard of performance against anyone he's played. I meant it more like that his type of players in general (Gotze, Ozil, Isco, Silva) they don't really have poor games per se where they have poor decision making and are frustrating to watch. Them having poor games is more due to the opposition shutting them out of the game and them just not being able to get too involved.
Steady on!
Agreed, the guy is a stick. If he does manage to really put the muscle on the way Ronaldo did, he will have everything. His change of pace is incredible so it's scary to think how much stronger and quicker he can get in the coming years.
Zidane, there i said it
With a touch of Ozil.
