Adnan Januzaj will make his first appearance for Manchester United since returning from loan with Dortmund for the Under-21s when they take on Reading on Monday.
Rather than going straight into Louis van Gaal’s squad for the FA Cup tie against Sheffield United tomorrow, the Belgian international will play for Warren Joyce’s side as they travel to Berkshire in order for the Dutchman to assess his fitness.
There is also some paperwork to be finalised in order for Januzaj’s return to Old Trafford to become official and this has also factored into the United boss’ decision.
Van Gaal spoke at length about Januzaj in his pre-match press conference, stating that he believed in the talents of the 20-year-old.
He said:
I believe in the talent of Adnan Januzaj. I have said this previously. I also previewed [foresaw] that it shall be very difficult to play matches in Dortmund and, unfortunately, I was right. Then I think that, if he cannot play there, then he would be better training with us here to show his talent in the first team.
He has been tested already this morning [Friday] and he didn’t play so much [for] 90 minutes, only in the pre-season, so he has to show his fitness in the second team. We have to wait to see that the papers are alright, as they are not at the moment. We have to see if he can play on Monday for the second team. He is fit to play and that is also very good, then he can show his quality.
Januzaj will be looking to get his career back on track after a disastrous loan spell at the Signal Iduna Park. He failed to start a single Bundesliga game for Thomas Tuchel’s side during his time in Germany and the only starts he received were in the Europa League, where he failed to impress.
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