Everton are reportedly keen on rekindling their interest in taking Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj on loan. A report by the Mirror suggests that Everton manager Roberto Martinez is an admirer of Januzaj’s, and has approached United to take him on loan in January, only for that approach to be turned down. However, his interest has not looked like wavering, and he is apparently keeping an eye on the Belgian.
Januzaj is not said to be one of Everton’s primary transfer targets, but Toffees manager Martinez has indicated that he will be looking into the loan market to bolster his squad once again this summer. A loan move for Januzaj may also prove beneficial, as he has struggled to stake a claim to a regular first team place under Louis van Gaal.
Following a breakout first season under David Moyes, Januzaj had a very underwhelming second season in the United first team, managing only managed 21 first team appearances in all competitions. A more startling statistic is his goals and assists, managing none of both throughout the entire season. Van Gaal’s constantly changing tactics meant rare and inconsistent opportunities for Januzaj. Late in October, van Gaal tried a 4-3-3 formation, in which Januzaj was an important part, proven by him finishing back to back matches against West Brom and Chelsea.
The same thing happened again late in January and into February, albeit with a different formation. He started three consecutive matches, against Leicester City, West Ham United and Burnley. After that Burnley match, Januzaj did not start a single game until the end of the season. Just before that short run of starts, manager Van Gaal stated that he wasn’t letting Januzaj go on loan, considering him an important part of his squad.
That closed the door for various clubs who were looking to sign him. Clubs like Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain were linked to the club, with Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri admitting his admiration of Januzaj, calling him and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whom the club was also linked with, ‘great players’, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Everton was also one of the clubs linked with Januzaj. Martinez, who has Januzaj’s Belgian counterparts Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas in his squad, made his admiration of the Belgium national set-up no secret, and has commented on why Belgian players make good signings to the Liverpool Echo last April, saying:
“The Belgium FA put in a very strong plan 10 years ago and developed a way of developing players in a 4-2-3-1 system that gave players a really strong technical education. Then they have shown the right mentality.“They are capable of moving abroad at a young age and finding the way to be important for the team. They are really strong performers and that combination of that programme form the Belgian FA and the mentality of that generation has created an exceptional group of players who are going to be hugely successful at international level.“As individuals they are great to work with, they are fighters and know how to find a way to be affective for the team but always in a professional way.”
Despite Martinez’ apparent admiration of Januzaj, a move for the United winger does not look like a priority for Everton, as proven by their recent signing of Spanish winger Gerard Deulofeu from Barcelona. The Spain U21 international spent the 2013-14 season on loan at Everton, where he shined in helping the club finish in a Europa League spot. Deulofeu’s role in the team and his familiarity with the squad and manager would no doubt limit Januzaj’s opportunity, should he head for Merseyside.
While Everton are looking like keeping a watchful eye on Januzaj’s situation at United, a move does not seem to currently be on the cards, and with the signing of Deulofeu, bringing in Januzaj does not seem urgent for them. As for Januzaj, his situation at the club for the coming season does not seem promising, but a good pre-season will put him right in the forefront of the manager’s thoughts for selection in the coming season.
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