Adnan Januzaj

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The thing about Adnan is that he has adapted to fast to the level we throw him at so far, and it's tempting to just start him for 2-3 games to see if he'll be able to replicate it in the first team.
 
We have a very bloated squad in the attacking areas. So unless there's some sort of injury crisis he'll be lucky to get 10+ appearances if that. Hope I am wrong though
 
If Fergie was still here, I'd expect him to get starts in the Carling Cup, and maybe a few minutes when we'd be cruising.

With Moyes, it's hard to say for now, but I'd guess he'll be even less adventurous considering the pressure he'll be under.
 
I disagree. Letting him develop would involve giving him his chances at the next level. First team football will tell us where he's at, whether he's ready or not. Holding him back could hinder his development. Give him all the appearances he deserves. If you're good enough, you're old enough. Last season our wings were abysmal and frankly he should have played more than he did because Valencia didn't deserve his starts.
 
I disagree. Letting him develop would involve giving him his chances at the next level. First team football will tell us where he's at, whether he's ready or not. Holding him back could hinder his development. Give him all the appearances he deserves. If you're good enough, you're old enough. Last season our wings were abysmal and frankly he should have played more than he did because Valencia didn't deserve his starts.

Last season he wouldn't have been as ready as he would appear to be now, he would have probably struggled and taken a loss in terms of confidence. SAF said many times that releasing youngsters at the highest level has too timed perfectly otherwise it can hurt them if they're not ready.
 
I disagree. Letting him develop would involve giving him his chances at the next level. First team football will tell us where he's at, whether he's ready or not. Holding him back could hinder his development. Give him all the appearances he deserves. If you're good enough, you're old enough. Last season our wings were abysmal and frankly he should have played more than he did because Valencia didn't deserve his starts.

In Games we are not in full control of though, it will be risky putting him in on the wing.

An end to end game at premier league pace requires massive stamina. I'm not quite sure if he would be ready for that responsibility yet. Playing him at the AMC role though he could work nicely.

Hopefully we will have a few games at around 75 mins and cruising which he can come into.
 
I disagree. Letting him develop would involve giving him his chances at the next level. First team football will tell us where he's at, whether he's ready or not. Holding him back could hinder his development. Give him all the appearances he deserves. If you're good enough, you're old enough. Last season our wings were abysmal and frankly he should have played more than he did because Valencia didn't deserve his starts.

What exactly do you disagree with? I am sure everyone wants him to as much as possible but it seems unlikely
 
I hope we take a chance on him and give him a place in the first team every now and then. These days youngsters want to play and that's how the modern game is. From the little bit I've seen of him he looks like he won't let us down either. He might not put in brilliant performances so early but if the likes of Gibson and rafael can get games for the first team in central midfield I'm sure we can give this kid game time if we really want to.
 
What exactly do you disagree with? I am sure everyone wants him to as much as possible but it seems unlikely

I disagreed specifically with Marjen and Decotron who say he might get five appearances.
Yes he wouldn't have been as ready but SAF decided he was good enough for the bench towards the end. I'm not saying throw him in when we're playing terribly and expect him to light the world on fire. He would not have been worse than Young or Valencia at times last season and when they were playing horrifically he should have been given a chance off the bench in my opinion.
 
Spot on and this is why there is no chance we will wait that long. I've said for ages now that I think Januzaj could translate this form to the first team here or somewhere else. For example, Bernard is currently being talked about for Porto, Arsenal etc and having seen him play, I think Januzaj would at least be as handy in the PL this season if given the chance.
Bernard has played on a regular basis for Atletico Mineiro who just won Copa Libertadores and he's featured for Brazilian national team, he's quite a few steps ahead of Januzaj in terms of development. We've only really seen Januzaj against poor teams in a pre-season.
 
I disagreed specifically with Marjen and Decotron who say he might get five appearances.
Yes he wouldn't have been as ready but SAF decided he was good enough for the bench towards the end. I'm not saying throw him in when we're playing terribly and expect him to light the world on fire. He would not have been worse than Young or Valencia at times last season and when they were playing horrifically he should have been given a chance off the bench in my opinion.
The last line is spot on. People forget the line ups we sometimes to into home games with. We've seen jones in central midfield looking like a clueless headless chicken, we've seen Valencia playing despite in bebe-mode, rafael in central midfield, Giggs AND scholes in midfield resulting in us getting overrun, oshea in central midfield, keiran Richardson out wide (:lol:). So yeah we experiment a fair bit and often go for options from which nothing more than being alright is expected. I think our brightest academy talent can be elected to be "alright". Especially when his confidence is high.
 
So to all the people who thinks he'll get no more than 5 appearances, how many of you were screaming for Pogba to get chances and then screaming when Pogba got 30+ games for Juve?

Adnan's a year younger than what Pogba was when he was with us but he's already impressing far more than Pogba was. And that's down to his sheer determination and hunger.

How can people complain that Pogba wasn't getting games, and then moan when some of us are saying he can get 15+ appearances? I'm not saying he's better than what Pogba was outof bitterness, I'm saying it because I believe it to be true. The one thing Pogba had over Januzaj was his size, but Adnan has bulked up a bit and shown that he can play against men.

Of course it will be a whole different ball game against PL opposition and he won't be guaranteed games, but unlike Pogba I bet he won't sulk if he doesn't get the games and actually goes and works harder to prove himself.

But yeah to summarise my post, if Pogba can get nearly 40 appearances last season, then I don't see why it's so laughable to suggest that Adnan can get 15+ when he's ahead in his development (IMO) than where Pogba was at his same age and even when Pogba was a year older.
 
So to all the people who thinks he'll get no more than 5 appearances, how many of you were screaming for Pogba to get chances and then screaming when Pogba got 30+ games for Juve?

Adnan's a year younger than what Pogba was when he was with us but he's already impressing far more than Pogba was. And that's down to his sheer determination and hunger.

How can people complain that Pogba wasn't getting games, and then moan when some of us are saying he can get 15+ appearances? I'm not saying he's better than what Pogba was outof bitterness, I'm saying it because I believe it to be true. The one thing Pogba had over Januzaj was his size, but Adnan has bulked up a bit and shown that he can play against men.

Of course it will be a whole different ball game against PL opposition and he won't be guaranteed games, but unlike Pogba I bet he won't sulk if he doesn't get the games and actually goes and works harder to prove himself.

But yeah to summarise my post, if Pogba can get nearly 40 appearances last season, then I don't see why it's so laughable to suggest that Adnan can get 15+ when he's ahead in his development (IMO) than where Pogba was at his same age and even when Pogba was a year older.


There are too many regulars competing in the positions Januzaj plays in comparison to Pogba. From Pogba's comments after leaving, the nail in the coffin was when Fergie brought Scholes back from retirement.
 
There are too many regulars competing in the positions Januzaj plays in comparison to Pogba. From Pogba's comments after leaving, the nail in the coffin was when Fergie brought Scholes back from retirement.

And what about Pogba's competition in Juventus? People were asking how he would get in that midfield with the likes of Pirlo, Vidal etc.

No doubt there's a lot of competition, but Januzaj is very versatile which enhances his opportunity to get games. He can play on either win, behind the striker, an attacking mid. I reckon he'd be able to play in a midfield 2 as well but of course I wouldn't risk that until he gets enough experience.
 
It's slightly different being forth choice in a midfield with three spots than being about 8th choice for the two wing spots and 5th or 6th choice for the second striker position.

He'll get some games in the Carling Cup.
 
All of Rooney/Welbeck/Kagawa/Nani/Young/Valencia/Zaha can play in the positions that Januzaj can and all of them are better right now which is why it's hard to see him rack up 10+ appearances.
 
And how much competition does he have for that attacking mid spot? Kagawa and Rooney right? There's enough games to go around, and he plays in enough positions to be able to get games.

But we'll see, there's no point in us all arguing over how many games he may or may not get. We'll just have to agree to disagree, but I will be shocked if he gets less than 10 in all competitions, my gut feeling.
 
All of Rooney/Welbeck/Kagawa/Nani/Young/Valencia/Zaha can play in the positions that Januzaj can and all of them are better right now which is why it's hard to see him rack up 10+ appearances.

That's certainly true. But that's seven players for three positions. Bear in mind that we have five players for two CB positions and yet for three seasons in a row at one time or another we have had to use Carrick there, a player not at all suited to the position.

Seven into three and five into two are roughly the same, and Januzaj is actually very good in his three positions. Unlike Carrick, Januzaj wouldn't need everyone ahead of him to be injured - he would just need someone to lose form enough for Moyes to try someone else out. Look what happened last season - our wingers couldn't buy a decent performance between them. Last season Januzaj would have got games, so who's to say it might not happen this season?
 
That's certainly true. But that's seven players for three positions. Bear in mind that we have five players for two CB positions and yet for three seasons in a row at one time or another we have had to use Carrick there, a player not at all suited to the position.

Seven into three and five into two are roughly the same, and Januzaj is actually very good in his three positions. Unlike Carrick, Januzaj wouldn't need everyone ahead of him to be injured - he would just need someone to lose form enough for Moyes to try someone else out. Look what happened last season - our wingers couldn't buy a decent performance between them. Last season Januzaj would have got games, so who's to say it might not happen this season?

There's nothing I'd love more than to see Januzaj rack up 15/20 appearances this season. I love watching him play and I think given the chance he could have a real impact on our season. But I think last season was just a bad one for our wingers and I expect to see much improved performances from them this season.

Mind you, if I had my way I'd get rid of Young thereby making a bit of room for Januzaj to get game time
 
There's nothing I'd love more than to see Januzaj rack up 15/20 appearances this season. I love watching him play and I think given the chance he could have a real impact on our season. But I think last season was just a bad one for our wingers and I expect to see much improved performances from them this season.

Mind you, if I had my way I'd get rid of Young thereby making a bit of room for Januzaj to get game time

I agree it's a slim chance. If nothing else, I think we can be confident he'll be the first name on the cup team-sheets. And I'm completely with you on Young. Only player in the squad (well, aside from the likes of Bebe and Macheda) who I wouldn't mind us getting rid of.
 
Let me know when you want to tag me back in Brightonian.
 
So to all the people who thinks he'll get no more than 5 appearances, how many of you were screaming for Pogba to get chances and then screaming when Pogba got 30+ games for Juve?

Adnan's a year younger than what Pogba was when he was with us but he's already impressing far more than Pogba was. And that's down to his sheer determination and hunger.

How can people complain that Pogba wasn't getting games, and then moan when some of us are saying he can get 15+ appearances? I'm not saying he's better than what Pogba was outof bitterness, I'm saying it because I believe it to be true. The one thing Pogba had over Januzaj was his size, but Adnan has bulked up a bit and shown that he can play against men.

Of course it will be a whole different ball game against PL opposition and he won't be guaranteed games, but unlike Pogba I bet he won't sulk if he doesn't get the games and actually goes and works harder to prove himself.

But yeah to summarise my post, if Pogba can get nearly 40 appearances last season, then I don't see why it's so laughable to suggest that Adnan can get 15+ when he's ahead in his development (IMO) than where Pogba was at his same age and even when Pogba was a year older.


There are many differences - but the biggest imo is that Pogba was a beast physically. I would have no fears about letting him meet Huth and Shawcross at Brittania. Januzaj needs to toughen up even if his abilities are good enough
 
There are many differences - but the biggest imo is that Pogba was a beast physically. I would have no fears about letting him meet Huth and Shawcross at Brittania. Januzaj needs to toughen up even if his abilities are good enough

Bollocks. On this tour we've played some physical teams, all of them comprising full grown men. That's enough evidence of his physical readiness for me. Look at David Silva, Oscar, Coutinho. They're all extremely slight. You don't need to be big to excel in the PL any more. If the likes of Huth and Shawcross want to use their physicality against him, these days, they're going to have to foul him. Which is exactly what they do to everyone else, most of the time.
 
Bollocks. On this tour we've played some physical teams, all of them comprising full grown men. That's enough evidence of his physical readiness for me. Look at David Silva, Oscar, Coutinho. They're all extremely slight. You don't need to be big to excel in the PL any more. If the likes of Huth and Shawcross want to use their physicality against him, these days, they're going to have to foul him. Which is exactly what they do to everyone else, most of the time.
What made my mind up that Januzaj was ready for some first team football was the reserve game against Spurs near the end of last season when Januzaj was up front on his own being marked by Kaboul who tried to intimidate him every time he got the ball but Januzaj just played his natural game and let Kaboul get too close before spinning him or winning freekicks. There arent many players much more physically intimidating than Kaboul but he wasnt affected by it at all and looked the best player on the pitch that night
 
Bernard has played on a regular basis for Atletico Mineiro who just won Copa Libertadores and he's featured for Brazilian national team, he's quite a few steps ahead of Januzaj in terms of development. We've only really seen Januzaj against poor teams in a pre-season.

Means nothing to me. I've watched that Brazilian league a lot over the last year on ESPN, to say it is shite is an understatement.
 
Means nothing to me. I've watched that Brazilian league a lot over the last year on ESPN, to say it is shite is an understatement.
It can't be that bad when Brazilian teams regularly play well against top European sides in CWC.
 
It can't be that bad when Brazilian teams regularly play well against top European sides in CWC.

That's pure straw man. The Brazilian league is very poor quality for the most part, there's little real argument to be had with that. The fact that the entire continent's very top club often does well against the CL winner in a competition which for the former is the biggest and most important they ever get to play in, and which for the latter is little more than a sideshow, means very little.
 
I don't think you have to be the fastest as long as the technique and speed of mind is there which it looks like it is. I think it is easy for young players to sometimes stand out playing against weaker opposition but I usually think of it in a more physical/dribbling way. I think that's where young players can look good without it really saying much for how they can do against better trained/physical players. With Januzaj though what's stood out is his comfort moving anywhere across the attack, his speed of thought and comfort on the ball and his choice of play. Those are aspects of his game which aren't contingent on the opposition, he just has them.On top of that he's shown the workrate the you need to really break through.

I think 15 games would be pushing it because unless he really makes a big impact when he gets his chance as I've said before atm there are a lot of players competing for the front 4 spots, so just making the bench is gonna be hard. But I'd be disappointed if with the FA cup/League cup and the odd league/CL game he couldn't get 10 appearances. I guess it will all depend on how his first taste of proper first team action goes. He'll get a chance as otherwise there'd have been no point taking him on tour and if he does well in it no reason to think he can't get more.

Sounds like Scholes or Wilshere. And Januzaj has similarities - not a physical beast, just a completely natural footballer and a tough character.

What I like about Januzaj is that he is always very involved in play, with freekicks, corners, passing exchanges, and creating chances.
 
Am I the only one who think that the way he play means he will be more injury-prone?
 
If he is a winger, then it is in the Beckham mold where crossing and technique make up for a lack of pace.

Question is, how are his free kicks?
 
If he is a winger, then it is in the Beckham mold where crossing and technique make up for a lack of pace.

Question is, how are his free kicks?


He's not Beckham, he's like David Silva.
 
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