Adnan Januzaj started preseason training with Manchester United’s reserves. He spent the first two days in July with the players alongside whom he starred last season, when he was voted United’s reserve player of the year after stepping up from the youth ranks.
New manager David Moyes had been told all about his talent, but he had a large number of established first-teamers to watch and work with ahead of a lengthy tour.
On the third day of training, one first-teamer dropped out of a training session. Former player and new United coach Phil Neville was there:
"We brought Adnan up to train with us," Neville recalled. "We could see merit in him having a bit of experience with the first team after he’d done so well last season."
What happened next stunned the watching eyes.
"Within five minutes of doing a little 7-vs.-3 possession, you could see the vision of him playing for Man United’s first team," said Neville.
"At the end of the session, all of the coaches got together. We were unanimous in our thoughts on what he’d done. He played like a Man United player. He’d wanted the ball, he was brave, he went into a tackle and smashed someone.
"Some kids are in awe when they are promoted to the first team, they pussyfoot about. Adnan looked like a Man United player. He was like 'Come on, I want more of this, I should have been in here yesterday, not today.'
"Straight away, the manager came up to me and said ‘He will be a Man United first-team player.'"
Three weeks later, Januzaj was wandering around a hotel in Yokohama, Japan, wearing one of Rio Ferdinand’s "5" caps and wondering why his phone didn’t work properly. He was on a floor reserved for the United party.
