:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48515201/GettyImages-500826768.0.jpg)
Adnan Januzaj, who you may remember was once the future of Manchester United and coveted by nations around Europe, has had his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund cut short. He returns to Old Trafford having made a mere 12 appearances, only three of which were starts.
#mufc confirms Adnan Januzaj will rejoin the squad, after Borussia Dortmund agreed to cancel his loan deal. pic.twitter.com/Uxeq2NtfJT
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 7, 2016
Well done everybody!
What was supposed to happen, we assume, was that Januzaj would smash his way into the Dortmund first team, learn all about how to play exciting, attacking football, and then either return to take the Premier League by storm or attract significant bids from elsewhere around Europe. Instead he's spent half a year sitting on a substitute's bench, impressed nobody, and now has to come back to a United hierarchy that had already decided they could do without him. Doesn't sound like the ideal recipe for player development.
Maybe it will have been an important learning experience. Maybe he'll return with a new mindset to go with all that talent. Maybe he'll kick right on. Maybe.