Manchester United youngster Adnan Januzaj has been recalled from his loan spell at Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund. The Belgian midfielder had initially been sent to Germany on a season-long loan deal but the loan has been cut short by mutual consent.
According to Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel, the 20-year-old Belgium international simply did not have the attitude or disposition to succeed at the Westfalenstadion. But reports also suggest that it was Van Gaal who took the decision to cut short his spell with Die Schwarzgelben.
Januzaj had made only five appearances in the last few months since joining the club and didn’t start a single match in the Bundesliga. He started only three games in the Europa League and came on as a substitute twice. In those matches, Januzaj failed to register a goal or assist in 331 minutes on the pitch.
Januzaj had shot to fame in David Moyes’s reign when he scored a brace against Sunderland. Although he had a promising season on an individual level when the club struggled, he was benched under Van Gaal and was sent on loan in a bid to give him game time in spite of scoring the winner against Aston Villa in August.
Dortmund coach Tuchel criticizes Januzaj’s attitude
According to Tuchel, Januzaj simply did not adapt to the German club and found it hard to shake off his United upbringing.
Speaking about Januzaj to Sportbild, Tuchel said: “It is a pity he did not show the desire and attitude you need to progress at his age.
“My feeling was that he never was completely with us, that a part of him always stayed in Manchester and he compared everything here with United. We were not able to help him to shake that off. They are coming to us to ask for a second chance.”
Manchester United will take care of Januzaj: Van Gaal
However, Van Gaal has said that Januzaj would play in the Red Devils’ U-21 clash with Reading on Monday. He will not play a part in the FA Cup match against Sheffield United as Van Gaal tries to bring Januzaj back up to speed in a bid to bring him back into the first team.
When he was asked about the decision to bring back Januzaj and also 22-year-old striker Michael Keane who was on loan at Preston North End, he said: “Manchester United is a club that takes care of all our players and I think it's a very good habit to have that.
“I believe in the talent of Adnan Januzaj. I said it would be very difficult to play matches in Dortmund and unfortunately I was right.”
