Why Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj Will Be a Hit for Borussia Dortmund

A little like Mario Balotelli’s first goal upon his return to AC Milan recently, the news that Adnan Januzaj had struck just 20 minutes into his Borussia Dortmund bow was made for social media.

Although opinions vary, plenty of Manchester United fans appear both surprised and disappointed at Louis van Gaal’s decision to send the talented young Belgian off on loan to the Bundesliga for a campaign, so of course they were going to click, watch, retweet and share the footage of his goal in a friendly against St Pauli on Tuesday night.

Forget for a second that it was something of a scruffy strike, with the ball hitting a defender, the ground and the goalkeeper before it found its way into the back of the net, here was Januzaj getting off to a good start and proving why many, including Eurosport, believe Van Gaal should have kept him around at Old Trafford.

The fact the Dutchman didn’t is still something of a mystery.

Of Januzaj’s four appearances for United this season, all four were from the start, suggesting there is a level of trust in the youngster from his manager, whom Januzaj rewarded with the winning goal at Aston Villa in the first of those matches.

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Perhaps more tellingly, though, was that the 20-year-old was substituted on each occasion—failing to return for the second half of the final game of the four, the 4-0 Champions League playoff stroll against Club Brugge.

Perhaps, then, Van Gaal sees this loan move as a chance to turn Januzaj into a 90-minute man, not just a player who can sparkle for a period but then remain on the fringes of things.

It would be unfair to say Januzaj has regressed from the exciting teenager who made an instant impact for United under David Moyes—famously scoring two goals in an October 2013 win at Sunderland, his first start for the club—but it would also be accurate to state he hasn’t exactly shone, either.

He is a player who needs to be indulged, and with Memphis Depay, Juan Mata and Ander Herrera at his disposal, Van Gaal clearly felt he didn’t need to do that. United’s temporary loss is Dortmund’s gain.

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And it really is a gain, especially given Marco Reus’s injury curse has struck again and ruled him out of the rceent Germany internationals against Poland and Scotland and potentially Dortmund’s clash at Hannover on Saturday as they bid to keep up their perfect start to the season.

Januzaj is a different type of player, but one who could thrive in the Bundesliga in Thomas Tuchel’s exciting, free-flowing team.

Seemingly sterilised by Van Gaal’s game plan, which often focuses on getting bodies into the right areas, in Tuchel, Januzaj will find a coach who encourages him to be an individual, one who won’t burden him with too much defensive work.

Indeed, instead of Reus, perhaps Januzaj could look to another team-mate, midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, for inspiration as he embarks upon his life in the Bundesliga.

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The Armenian appears to have been rejuvenated by the arrival of Tuchel and has quickly become one of the fulcrums of a free-flowing, attacking team, scoring eight goals in all competitions since the start of August.

It is that transformation into a player of great numbers and substance—goals and assists in other words—that Januzaj will be seeking in his temporary move to Dortmund, perhaps to take back with him to Old Trafford or perhaps to keep in Germany a while longer.

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Could United still do with him at the club? Under other managers, you’d suspect he’d have stayed. Sir Alex Ferguson, for one, was always terrific at promoting and then trusting young players, and for all of Moyes’ failings in Manchester, at least he was the one who brought Januzaj into the first team.

None of that will trouble Dortmund, though.

They’ve got an excellent young player for a season, at least, and if he is determined to prove Van Gaal wrong, then Januzaj could be a huge asset for them.

His year in North Rhine-Westphalia promises to be a fascinating one.