Adnan Januzaj has joined Sunderland on a season-long loan deal.
The Belgian moves to the north east in search of regular first team football after finding himself on the periphery of selection at United.
The 21-year-old will link up with former manager David Moyes, who gave him his Manchester United debut against Sunderland back in October 2013, where his second half brace secured a memorable comeback victory to win 2-1.
This led to an impressive 27 Premier League appearances, as he was one of the brighter points in a dismal season, highlighting his impressive rise to prominence having won the Reserve Player of the Year in the previous campaign.
However, Januzaj made just 23 league appearances combined during Louis van Gaal’s two seasons at the helm, where he inherited the famous number 11 shirt on the back of Ryan Giggs’ retirement.
This pressure seemed to tell, and he saw a miserable loan spell at Borussia Dortmund end with just six games played during the first half of last season, before requesting to terminate such temporary spell back in January this year.
His attitude has been questioned by many, but there is no doubting the talent that he possesses.
Like many players at Old Trafford, his preferred position is at number 10, but he has the balance, ability and pace to play out wide, an area of weakness in recent times at the club.
Unfortunately, he has yet to find the consistency and the game time that saw him break onto the scene as an 18-year-old, and moves to the Stadium of Light hoping to regain the kind of form to showcase why he should be a regular in England’s top flight.
Jose Mourinho has hyped up Januzaj’s talent, and claims this move is for the long-term benefit as he still features in future plans.
The plus for Januzaj is that he doesn’t turn 22 until February, so still has time on his side for now, but he is getting to the point in his career where he needs to show some willingness and application to prove that he is up for the battle at United, beginning with this spell away.
We wish him all the best at the Black Cats and hope to see a rejuvenated player in the months to come.