Adnan Januzaj’s loan spell at Sunderland from Manchester United last season won’t be remembered too fondly by the Stadium of Light faithful.
It is fair to say Adnan Januzaj will not be remembered too fondly at Sunderland.
Big things were expected of the fleet-footed winger when he moved to Wearside on loan for the 2016/17 season, reuniting with David Moyes who gave him his debut at Manchester United.
Sunderland fans knew just how good Januzaj could be. After all, he scored a sensational, match-winning double at the Stadium of Light at the age of just 18 during Moyes’ short-lived spell in charge at Old Trafford.
But it is a rather damning indictment of Januzaj’s spell on Wearside that he scored more goals in that one game back in the Autumn of 2013 than he did during his entire season in red and white.
So Sunderland fans could be forgiven for scoffing at Januzaj’s claims that he could one day saunter back to the Premier League and look right at home.
“With my quality, I think I could go play in any league I went to,” Januzaj, who eventually left Manchester United for Real Sociedad in the summer, told the Mirror. “I am happy here, but who knows what the future will hold?
“I don’t decide all this, but, if, one day, I have to be back in the Premier League, then why not?”
Sunderland fans who endured Januzaj’s series of half-hearted, limp displays on the wing will be queuing up to explain exactly ‘why not’.
The Black Cats finished bottom of the Premier League last season and Moyes lost his job. And while it would be wrong to blame Januzaj entirely for a disastrous 2016/17 campaign, he did not exactly help.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
