Adnan Januzaj has turned down a move to the Middle East in a boost to David Moyes’ hopes of bringing the former Premier League wonderkid to West Ham United, as reported by Voetbal Krant.
It’s fair to say Moyes has seen the good and the bad of one of football’s most mercurial figures.
Remember how Januzaj exploded onto the scene during the Scot’s short-lived and ill-fated spell in the most scorching of managerial hotseats at Manchester United, eventually inheriting Ryan Giggs’ number 11 shirt? Well, that was a far cry to how the Belgium international performed under Moyes at Sunderland.
“I’ve said to Adnan, you need to stop blaming everyone else for what’s gone wrong,” Moyes said in 2016.
“He’s two-footed, he’s got a little bit of Chris Waddle about him. I’m going to try to get him back to the levels he was at a couple of years ago.
“He’s coming to a manager who trusts him and believes in him but he’s not really featured for the past couple of years. But this boy can play two or three different positions, he’s got an ability to go past people, score goals, make goals. He’s got the talent to be a big, big player.”
Could David Moyes work with Adnan Januzaj again at West Ham?
Six years have passed since those comments were made. And while Januzaj did have his moments at Real Sociedad, they came far too infrequently to suggest that a footballer once tipped to become an ‘absolutely world class’ forward by United legend Gary Neville was ever going to do more than scratch the very surface of his potential.
But third time, they say, is often the charm.
Januzaj is a free-agent after turning down a contract extension in La Liga. According to the Daily Star – claims backed up by Football London – West ham have made contact with the winger’s representatives about a potential return to England.
At 27, he has plenty of time at the top-level remaining. There is a space in Moyes’ squad for a left-footed right winger too, following Andriy Yarmolenko’s departure. What’s more, Januzaj has no appetite for a money-spinning move to the Middle East. He wants to remain in Europe ahead of the Qatar World Cup.
Januzaj, Voetbal Krant say, has ‘refused’ an offer from Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr.
Maybe, just maybe, the penny has finally dropped.
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