Adnan Januzaj: Future United and England star?

Adnan Januzaj: United's #44 that delighted many United fans last Saturday and has got everyone in the media talking. Future at United? Future with England? 

Saturday night saw Man United come back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 thanks to a brace from Adnan Januzaj. Since then the media has gone crazy, publishing possible contract negotiations, transfer rumours and this debate over his eligibility to play for England. On Match Of The Day, Hodgson admitted that England are looking at him. After the game Moyes, perhaps hastily, put him in the same category as Rooney. Then there are all the ludicrous comparisons made between players born on February 5th (Ronaldo, Neymar, Tevez and Januzaj all share that birth date).

He is an 18 year old kid that has scored 2 goals and that is all he is at the moment. It is far too early for rash comparisons to be made about a player so early in his footballing career. Nevertheless it is obvious the kid has talent, the 2nd goal at Sunderland proved that and it will be interesting to see what the future is for him both for club and country. 

One of United's bright prospects

Is he the answer the United's early season woes? Temporarily, perhaps. This could be just a glimpse of what he is capable of or just a one hit wonder that we won't hear of again this season. I personally think its the former having watched what he has done outside of United's first team. For many though he really came out of nowhere having made. He signed for United back in 2011 from Anderlecht for £500k when he impressed at a skills session in Brussels.

He has already done what some players will never do in their career; win a trophy. The pre season Community Shield win against Wigan providing him with that honour. Last season he was influential as United's Under 21 side won the trophy with a 3-2 win over Spurs in the final. . He came to the attention of many United fans when he was included in the 19 man squad for the pre season tour of Asia and was on the whole, very impressive. 

The performance against Sunderland was on the whole, exceptional and the finish for his second goal is sure to feature in the goal of the month competitions. Asides from this though he has done largely nothing this season and was nowhere in the game at Liverpool and even worse against West Brom. What we have seen though is possibly a look at the next generation of United talent. This is assuming that he stays of course. What is sure is that he is one of United's bright prospects.



Club future?

His contract is due to expire at the end of this season and with more performances like Saturday's you would expect more and more clubs to be sniffing around Old Trafford for his signature. His agent has said in recent days that many "top European clubs" are interested and we are led to believe that Man City and Barcelona are two of those. Whether he is just trying to buy his client a few more lucrative bonuses on a contract at United or not, we are unlikely to find out. 

He seems pretty committed to United and I expect him to sign a 4 or 5 year deal with a nice healthy pay rise. Thats if they don't cock it up again like they did with Pogba (Juventus) and Morrison (West Ham). These two are real talents that United have seen exit due to poor management of contract negotiations. In fact imagine what a United team in 5 years time would be like with Pogba, Morrison, Zaha and Janujaz. Not to mention the young English attacker Jesse Lingard who scored 4 goals in 4 games in the tour of Asia and scored 4 goals on debut for his loan club Birmingham City. As Orange would say - The future's bright. 

International future?

Turkey, Serbia, Albania, Croatia, Kosovo, Belgium and England. These are all the nations that Adnan is, or will be, eligible to represent. Rumours are that his father wants him to play for Albania and Belgium have confirmed that he has turned them down already. England shouldn't get their hopes up though as he is not eligible to play for them until 5 years after his 18th birthday. Thats 2018 and if he really is a talent he is likely to have play for another nation already. So I personally don't think we will see him in an England shirt. He has said he is in no hurry to decide his international future but I have a sneaky suspicion that he will end up choosing the talented Belgian team. 

Just a point to ponder - I wonder if giving Janujaz a first team shirt number late on last season will prove to be one of the shrewdest pieces of business Sir Alex ever did

Premier League Predictions 05/10/2013

Man City vs Everton 12:45

All seemed rosy for Man City after they thumped United in the derby, but since then they have seen back to back defeats against Aston Villa and Bayern Munich. Adding to this, there are question marks over Joe Hart as he was culpable for at least 2 of the goals conceded in the Champions League midweek. Pellegrini, Hodgson and Zabaleta have all publicly backed Hart but what happened midweek is sure to have knocked his confidence back.

Hapless Hart: Errors creeping into the game of England's number 1

Having conceded 6 times in those 2 defeats, Everton will fancy their chances at getting something from this game. What won't help City is that Everton are arguably their bogey team of recent years having lost 9 of their last 12 against them and 4 of their last 6 at home. The leaking City defense are also going to have to contend with one of the in form strikers at the moment in Lukaku. He scored twice and assisted the their in their 3-2 win against Newcastle on Monday. This a win that meant they kept their status of being the only unbeaten team left in the Premier League. It is a tough one to call. City are hugely strong at home and Everton are bang in form. I fancy both teams to score with Lukaku and Toure the most likely candidates.

Score Prediction: Man City 1-1 Everton

Cardiff vs Newcastle 15:00

Jordan Mutch scored a late winner last weekend for Cardiff as they beat Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage. This means Cardiff sit tantalisingly close to the top half of the table in 11th place. No fresh injury concerns means Cardiff have pretty much a full squad to select from. They have also been rather impressive at home and the atmosphere at the Cardiff City Stadium is enough to unsettle the nerves of the most seasoned professionals. 

Bellamy could become first player to score for 7 different Premier League clubs

No team has been as hot and cold as Newcastle have been so far. They played very well to beat Villa away from home and considerably improved in the 2nd half against Everton on Monday. Newcastle are however leaking goals left, right and centre. Whilst at the other end, striker Papiss Cisse has gone 12 league games without a goal. These are worrying signs for the Magpies who are just two spots above the relegation zone. Alongside this you have Newcastle's dismal away record, notching up just 3 wins from their last 23. For me it looks more than likely that Cardiff will collect another 3 points today. If the "hot" Newcastle turn up then they will definitely make a game of it but I fancy Cardiff to edge it still. 

Score Prediction: Cardiff City 2-1 Newcastle

Fulham vs Stoke 15:00

As just mentioned, Fulham conceded a late goal to lose at home to Cardiff last Saturday. As a result, they find themselves in the relegation zone and pressure is mounting on boss Martin Jol. In fact this is a match up between two sides that are both struggling of late. Fulham have lost 4 in 5 and Stoke have not won in 3 after a bright start. In theory Fulham have one of the strongest striker partnerships in the league with Berbatov and Bent. They are both getting on a bit admittedly and haven't really gelled together yet. But form is temporary and class is permanent so I think Fulham will be safe this season just about. 

Hughes returns to his former club to face an under pressure Martin Jol

Stoke are in a well documented period of transition under Mark Hughes. They are trying to play more attractive passing football as opposed to the long ball "ugly" football that Pulis had them playing. Signs early on were that they have adapted well to the change of style yet they still find themselves 15th in the league. This has all the signs of a snooze-fest at Craven Cottage today. This fixture rarely provides lots of goals and I don't think that will change today. The sides are pretty even so I think it will end as a draw, possibly a goalless one but I am going to predict 1-1 today. 

Score Prediction: Fulham 1-1 Stoke

Hull vs Aston Villa 15:00

This a match up between an in form home team and an in form away team at the KC Stadium. Hull have picked up 2 wins and 1 draw from their 3 home matches so far, conceding just the one goal as well. Villa play very well on the counter attack and this is perfect for away fixtures seeing them pick up 5 wins from 8 away from home. Both teams will be without their star strikers for today's match. Benteke (Hip) and Brady (Hernia) will both miss the match. 

Fortress? Hull are unbeaten at home so far, conceding just 1 goal

This match could end up any score to be honest. I expect Hull to battle hard and create a fair few chances and they will be looking for Aluko to continue his scoring form. Villa are always a threat on the counter attack and scored 3 against City without Agbonlahor or Benteke. VIlla don't keep clean sheets so I think both teams will score today but I fancy Villa just to edge it. 

Score Prediction: Hull 1-2 Aston Villa

Liverpool vs Crystal Palace 15:00

This game is barely worth deliberating on the result. The only question is by what scoreline Liverpool will win by today. With the return of Luis Suarez from suspension, Liverpool look a really dangerous side and coupled with Sturridge there is plenty of goals in them as well. Concerns over whether the two of them can play together soon evaporated after their away win at Sunderland. The two of them were truly world class and they proved the difference between the two sides. 

Goal Machines: Suarez has 18 in 21 games and Sturridge has 18 in 24

Crystal Palace on the other hand look out of their depth in the Premier League so far. They come into this game on the back of three successive defeats (all three without scoring a goal). They have also lost all four away fixtures in league and cup so far as well. The problem is they don't have a goalscorer in their ranks. Chamakh is an okay signing for Palace but no more than that. He has only scored the 1 goal so far as well and they will need him to score much more than that if they have any hope of surviving this year. I am expecting a dominant Liverpool win comfortably today with Suarez and Sturridge both scoring again. 

Score Prediction: Liverpool 3-0 Crystal Palace

Sunderland vs Man United 17:30

Oh dear Oh dear. As a United fan myself what more can you say. The defeat to West Brom was truly shocking. As well as West Brom played, United played as bad. Everyone knew it would be a rocky road after SAF left and after seeing United's opening fixtures this season. Nevertheless to see the champions in the bottom half of the table after 6 games is simply not good enough and they have to win against Sunderland this evening to retain some of the faith in United fans. United have not lost three league games in a row for 12 years or so and have never lost at Sunderland in the league. There was a slight improvement in the Champions League on Wednesday but they still couldn't win that game and were at times clinging on just to get a point from the game. 

Under pressure Moyes has demanded a response from lacklustre United

Sunderland are still bottom of the league but showed glimpses of improvements against Liverpool on Monday night. They had 23 shots that night, the most in a game since December 2011. It will take time for Sunderland to know their best 11 and to find out which of the mass influx of players has what it takes to cut it in the Premier League. For now though they look a pretty average side and under normal circumstances you would expect United to sweep them aside. If United turn up then this should happen but Sunderland will be well up for this and will sense an opportunity to grab something from the game. 

Score Prediction: Sunderland 1-1 Man United

Is Shinji Kagawa heading for the exit at Old Trafford?

Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa expressed his disappointment at being subbed off at half time during their 2-1 loss to West Brom last Saturday after the game. This is not the first time that Kagawa has found himself down the pecking order at United as he struggled to nail down a regular place under Sir Alex. Even still he managed to make 20 league appearances last season and signs early on are that he will find it hard to match that this season having played just 45 minutes of Premier League football so far. 

Kagawa scored 6 league goals last season including a hat trick against Norwich

The £17m man's preferred position is undoubtedly the number 10 role, sat just behind the striker; something Moyes himself conceded in his post match interview. To make that position his own though he will have to dislodge arguably United's best player so far this season in Wayne Rooney. Surely there are ways and means of including Kagawa and Rooney in the same team without resorting to placing Kagawa on the left wing. He does not possess the strength and pace to operate on the wing and putting him out there is a waste in my opinion. This is after all a player that worked so well in the number 10 role at Borussia Dortmund winning the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double. 

The problem is that Man United play a system that emphasises the use of wingers to exploit the flanks and get behind the defensive line to create chances. They are far too over reliant on this system and would do well to find other systems of play against opponents. The 4-2-3-1 formation is one that could work and would include Shinji. Chelsea played this way for much of last season with Torres up front and Mata, Oscar and Hazard used as three interchangeable attacking midfielders. 

United fans throughout the summer were crying out for Moyes to invest in a creative midfielder to no avail. In fact the creative midfielder they are looking for already sits among the United ranks and they would do well to utilise him better. As a United fan myself I would love to see him play more as he is one of the most naturally gifted players we have. I would not blame him if he wanted to leave though and he still has admirers at his old club Borussia Dortmund. This is what his former manager Juergen Klopp had to say earlier this year. 

"Shinji Kagawa is one of the best players in the world and he now plays 20 minutes at Manchester United – on the left wing! My heart breaks." 

Whether Shinji's United career will be a long successful one, time will tell, but I doubt it myself. For now though he seems set on trying to win a place back in the team.