Adnan Januzaj

At 29 years old, Adnan Januzaj has this physical status:

Adnan Januzaj (born 5 February 1995) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish clubs Sevilla and the Belgium national team.

He started his career with Anderlecht before joining Manchester United in 2011 at the age of 16. During the 2013–14 season, Januzaj joined Manchester United's first-team under new manager David Moyes, but he lost out under Moyes' successors Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho, and had loan stints at Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland before joining Real Sociedad in July 2017.

Januzaj made his international debut in 2014 and then competed for Belgium at the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and 2018, winning the semi-finals of the latter tournament.

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Club career

Januzaj began his football career with FC Brussels but moved to Anderlecht as a 10-year-old in 2005. After impressing in a skills session in Brussels, he left Anderlecht for Manchester United in March 2011.

United coach Sir Alex Ferguson promoted Januzaj to the first team and had him numbered in the number 44 jersey for the remainder of the season, but he was an unused replacement in the season's final game against West Bromwich Albion. Januzaj received the 2013 Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year award for his efforts throughout the year. He was drafted in the first team squad of Asia's 2013-14 pre-season tour, and scored in the final game of the tour against Hong Kong's Kitchee five minutes after being called on. He started in Rio Ferdinand's testimonial; United lost 3–1 to Sevilla; but Januzaj provided the assistance for United's only goal.

Januzaj made his competitive debut for Manchester United against Wigan Athletic in the Community Shield on August 11, 2013, but he had six minutes to play against Robin van Persie. In a 2–0 home victory over Crystal Palace on September 14, he made his Premier League debut a month later, arriving as a 68th-minute replacement for Ashley Young. United came from behind to win by 2–1 over Sunderland on October 5th, 2013, Januzaj's first appearance for the club. Manchester United have agreed to a new five-year deal on October 19, 2013, in an attempt to stave off curiosity from other clubs, who may have signed Januzaj for "minimal compensation" on the expiration of his existing deal in June 2014. On December 3, 2013, he was nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year; at the time of his nomination, he had played in ten games for Manchester United.

When Manchester United's initial squad for the UEFA Champions League was announced in September 2013, it came as a surprise to some members of the media after his stellar start to the season. According to boss David Moyes later, the club's tactical decision to allow an additional player to play for the club after 1 January 1992, when Januzaj had not been with the club long enough to be eligible for the 'List B' squad, which included five players under the age of 21. Januzaj registered as a List B player on October 7th, 2013, but this meant he was not eligible for the club's first two matches in the tournament, both home to Bayer Leverkusen and away to Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite being on hand for the third game of the tournament, at home to Real Sociedad, Januzaj was left out of both games against the Spanish club and the return match against Bayer Leverkusen. On December 10, 2013 he made his Champions League debut at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

Januzaj earned a name for diving early in the 2014–14 season, beginning with a yellow card for a "clear dive" on his full debut against Sunderland in October 2013. Despite West Ham defender James Collins' refusal to risk, he received another ticket for simulation against West Ham United in December 2013. His third yellow card, which made him the joint second-most-booked player in the Premier League since diving restrictions were introduced in 2008, came against Tottenham Hotspur on January 1st; however, some believe that Rose "made no attempt to win the ball" and that Januzaj should not have been released. David Moyes has confessed to being consulted about simulation, but he has always requested that match authorities shield the winger from overzealous tackling by opposition defenders.

Januzaj was given the number 11 shirt, which had been worn by the recently retired Ryan Giggs at the start of the 2014–15 season. In United's first Premier League match of the season, he appeared as a replacement; a 1–2 loss at home to Swansea City. In a 2–2 draw with West Bromwich Albion on October 20, he got off to a rocky start to the season, defeating physical defenders Sébastien Pocognoli and Joleon Lescott.

Januzaj scored his first goal in over a year and didn't make the bench for the first game of the new season on August 14, 2015, a close range 29th-minute goal that gave United's victory over Aston Villa. On January 23, 2016, he made his first appearance after returning from loan against Southampton, when he replaced Cameron Borthwick-Jackson as a late replacement.

Januzaj was loaned to Borussia Dortmund in Germany on a season-long contract on August 31. He was recalled to United after only playing in 12 games for Dortmund in the first half of the season, beginning three times.

On August 12, 2016, Januzaj agreed to join Sunderland on a season-long loan move from Manchester United, partnering with former Manchester United boss David Moyes. Januzaj made his debut on the following day, defeating Manchester City 2–1 in the Premier League's first weekend. Januzaj scored his first goal for the team against Shrewsbury Town in his third game for Sunderland. He was a late winner. In a 1–0 loss at Tottenham, Januzaj was sent off for two yellow cards on September 18th. During the 3–2 loss to Crystal Palace, he sustained an ankle injury that kept him out for at least six weeks. Despite Januzaj's talent, Moyes said in December that if he wanted to break into Manchester United's squad, he needed to improve his Sunderland performances.

Januzaj joined Real Sociedad in July 2017 after failing to hold his position in the Manchester United squad. On September 10, he made his La Liga debut, leading to a 4–2 victory at Deportivo de La Corua, and his first goal was scored in a 3–1 victory over Basque neighbours SD Eibar on Friday. He also scored in a draw with UD Las Palmas and was one of three candidates for La Liga Player of the Month. He also scored a late equalizer against Atletico Madrid, which was vital in his team's survival in Europe.

Januzaj signed a four-year deal with Sevilla on August 20, 2022 after being released by Real Sociedad at the end of the 2021–22 season.

International career

In 2013, Januzaj was eligible to represent many national teams, including Belgium (through his birth and having a Belgian passport), Albania (through his Albanian descent) and Kosovo (which was not a FIFA member at the time and only a partially recognized independent state), Serbia, Turkey, and Croatia. "I am not closing the doors to Albania because we are Albanians," Abedin Januzaj (Adnan's father) said in this case. However, they are closing the doors to themselves. I only work with professionals on this topic" and said that Adnan will not represent Serbia, Turkey, or Croatia because "we have no links with these countries."

According to England manager Roy Hodgson, if Januzaj was naturalized as a British citizen, the Football Association was monitoring him in the hopes of involving him as a British citizen (and FIFA's residency rule was broken), but David Moyes said no one was allowed to vote. Despite widespread press coverage, Januzaj did not fulfill the eligibility to play for England under the Home Nations agreement's rules. The Home Nations deal requires players to complete a minimum of five years of education before the age of 18 in the territory of the relevant body, and do not offer national team recognition through residency.

Despite playing for Belgium at a high level, Januzaj was still eligible to represent Kosovo as it was not a member of UEFA or FIFA when he made his Belgian debut. However, Januzaj became ineligible to represent Kosovo after another appearance with Belgium after 2016 (the year in which Kosovo became a member of FIFA), and he could then only represent Belgium.

Marc Van Geersom, the Belgian under-18 and under-19 team's former coach, revealed in June 2013 that Januzaj had declined a call-up a number of times because he would rather play for Albania.

Former national team coach Marc Wilmots attempted to select Januzaj for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying games against Croatia and Wales on October 7, 2013, but Januzaj refused to call for a call, citing that he still needs to make a decision. "I wanted to give him a specific signal," Wilmots said in response. Adnan is a promising youngster, and I would like to bring him into the team, as Zakaria Bakkaria Bakkai. I do not want to force his hand. "I respect his choice and recommend speaking with Adnan and his family." Wilmots told reporters on October 16th, "If Januzaj wants to play for Belgium if he is selected in the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad," he would say. I'm not going to play the game. If you're at the top of the game or somewhere, show me your skills and I'll call you if I need you. I make no promises, to Januzaj or anyone else." The following day, Januzaj's father told Kosovar TV station KTV that he did not approve the Belgian union's policy: "I am not blackmailing them because I am not asking for my son's national team to come." They want Adnan. [...] You have to be a professional in this field. Belgium should follow the guidelines as well. I run his career in a sporting sense, and Belgium executives take the courtroom in Belgium."

Wilmots revealed on April 23, 2014, that Januzaj had pledged himself to the Belgian national team. Dirk De Vriese, the day's boss of Januzaj, received this alert on the day itself. Januzaj was named in Belgium's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on May 13th. He appeared in his first game with the national team two weeks later in a match against Luxembourg, but not before; the match was unofficial by FIFA on 6 June because Belgian coach Wilmots made 7 substitutions, but only six are allowed in international friendlies. Eden Hazard was on his debut in the upcoming warm-up game, a 1–0 victory over Tunisia on June 7th, defeating Eden Hazard after 73 minutes.

For the first time in three years, Januzaj was called to the Belgian squad in November 2017, but he did not participate against Mexico and Japan. He was selected by Roberto Martnez in the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia in June. In Kaliningrad's last group game against England, he scored the only goal as the Belgians advanced as group champions.

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