Realistic Expectations for Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj for Rest of Season

Adnan Januzaj is not having the season he should have been having. Manchester United have recalled him from his unsuccessful loan at Borussia Dortmund. At the end of that spell, Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel told Bild (h/t the Mirror), "It is a pity he did not show the desire and attitude you need to progress at his age." 

That is the football equivalent of a bright student who struggles with application being given a school report that says "must try harder." Januzaj's talent is abundant and obvious, but his application—from Tuchel's perspective, at least—is questionable.

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So what can he do with the rest of the season? In truth, the only realistic expectation is that he will feature very little, making the odd cameo or perhaps benefiting from an injury to another player.

He should have been an important part of United's attack, or failing that making good use of Tuchel's coaching and a place in the setup at one of Europe's most exciting teams. Instead he is languishing in the Red Devils' reserves.

Louis van Gaal has shown very little faith in the youngster. In his first season in charge, he occasionally put him in the starting XI but never gave him much of a run of games, and never in a consistent position.

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Earlier this season that seemed to have changed. Januzaj was Van Gaal's No. 10 for two Premier League games in succession. It was only then that he was unceremoniously and somewhat surprisingly sent on loan. Since his return, he has played a handful minutes for United—partly through injury, and partly because he does not seem important to his manager's plans.

If we assume he can play anywhere across the three behind the striker and occasionally even deputise as a false nine, Januzaj is behind Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata, Memphis Depay, Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford in the pecking order.

At No. 10, it is easier to imagine Van Gaal selecting Marouane Fellaini than his fellow Belgium international. Andreas Pereira seems on an approximately similar level—both talented options to whom the Dutchman rarely turns.

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The emergence of Rashford is good news for the club and has lifted the mood at Old Trafford, but it is not good news for Januzaj. Rashford's impact as a centre-forward was significant and would have had a knock-on effect anyway in terms of, say, Martial moving to the right wing.

However, Rashford himself showed enough evidence that he is comfortable out wide in the second half against Watford, causing plenty of difficulty for his full-back. Thus, Januzaj has yet another player with whom he must compete.

Januzaj is likely to get at least a few minutes on the pitch coming off the bench. This will especially be the case once the first XI are at full fitness. Van Gaal has often used like-for-like substitutions even when a tactical change might have seemed preferable in order to manage the fitness of players coming back from injury.

There was an example of this against West Bromwich Albion when, in spite of trailing 1-0, Van Gaal replaced Matteo Darmian with Timothy Fosu-Mensah after 83 minutes. Of course, even if Van Gaal had decided to make an attacking tactical change, Januzaj would not have benefited given he was not even on the bench in this case.

Thus it seems that his realistic expectations for the rest of the season will largely involve under-21 level football, the odd moment of first-team action and very little else. At this point, the more intriguing question is about the realistic expectations for his Manchester United future.

A new manager seems his only realistic hope of making his future a bright one. Januzaj's career has stalled at Old Trafford, and it would be no surprise to see him moved on even if a new manager does arrive.