Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj in action with Cambridge's Liam Hughes
Adnan Januzaj was the survivor in Louis van Gaal’s second United
clearout as the Dutchman prepared the way for another potential
bank-busting transfer summer.
The Reds’ January deadline day
transfer activity centred on the contrasting stories of a model pro and
two unfulfilled Old Trafford careers - plus one who could well be at the
crossroads.
Darren Fletcher, Anderson and Wilfried Zaha all departed.
Januzaj still has the chance to prove he can forge a future at the Reds after a canny piece of man-management by Van Gaal.
The 19-year-old’s position as a United regular had taken a hit this season under the Reds’ Dutch boss.
So
much so that suitors had begun to ask around about the possibility that
the midfielder could be prised away from Old Trafford - either
permanently or temporarily.
Paris Saint Germain’s intrigue over
an apparent slip from grace for the Belgian was sparked but the
big-spending French Ligue 1 club withdrew when Van Gaal said Januzaj was
a United player and wouldn’t be going anywhere.
That didn’t stop
Everton showing an interest, though it was understood the Merseysiders
were hoping that if the player was unsettled enough, he might push
through a move of some description.
But
Van Gaal nipped any such chance in the bud by naming Januzaj in his
starting XI at Cambridge in the FA Cup and on Saturday against Leicester
City.
It was his first Premier League start since November 8
against Crystal Palace and only two sub appearances in the meantime kept
his name alive in the club’s match records.
Those two starts
were a clever ploy from Van Gaal to ensure the teenager still felt a
part of his revolution and that chances were out there for him at a time
when he appeared forgotten and unloved by the management.
Van
Gaal said after the match that Januzaj has to prove himself on the
training ground and in matches and it is the players who pick the team
with their performances.
That suggested Januzaj hadn’t been able to convince him of his senior worth.
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