Adnan Janzuaj’s lack of appearances for Manchester United recently is punishment for an apparent case of showboating in a reserves match, according to the Daily Mail.
The paper reports that the Belgian had a private duel with Andreas Pereira in a Under-21 fixture against Sunderland in January, where both players attempted to score directly from a corner.
This incident happened after Januzaj had scored direct from a corner in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Oldham earlier that month. In an attempt to repeat that feat, he challenged close friend Pereira to do so against the Black Cats.
The 21-year-old came close to doing so, hitting the post once and having another effort cleared off the line, but United staff were not impressed with the winger’s behaviour and the excessive stepovers.
Louis van Gaal was informed, and since the incident, Januzaj has only made one appearance for the first-team since then – a cameo appearance against Arsenal at the tail-end of February.
This is the latest development in a troubled season for the Belgian, who has become a bit-part player at Old Trafford since burst onto the scene as one of the bright sparks in David Moyes’ troubled season with United back in 2013/14.
Since then, it has been nothing but bad news for Januzaj, who departed the club earlier in the season for a loan spell with Borussia Dortmund. That was an abject disaster, with the winger only starting three times in all competitions for BVB and he was recalled in January.
Although he was named as a substitute against Manchester City in United’s last Premier League fixture, it seems that Januzaj has a long way to go and improve his professionalism if he is to stake a claim for the first-team.
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