United’s new hero facing reserves return

Sunderland 1 Man United 2

After a full debut that had David Moyes comparing the teenager’s Premier League impact favourably to that of a young Wayne Rooney, the teenager could perhaps instead be forgiven for checking out the first team’s upcoming schedule in the aftermath of the international break.

That, however, is not the Manchester United way. The 18-year-old may be targeting the next senior encounter against Southampton, but despite announcing himself with two goals, Moyes insisted he won’t be averse to bringing the midfielder back down to earth with a return stint in the U21s.

It may be a bit of a comedown after United’s latest rising star left the Stadium of Light amidst talk of an improbable England call following unerring finishes within the space of five minutes at the outset of the second half. Whatever level of re-acquaintance with terra-firma awaits, he certainly made his mark.

“He’s a great prospect,” enthused Rooney, when told of the comparison Moyes had made between the pair. “Adnan runs at players and he’s got great ability. I think it’s great the manager has thrown him into the side, especially with what’s happened in the last few games. There was big pressure on us, but the manager has trusted him and he’s repaid that.”

Rooney’s allusion to ‘what has happened’ is the grossly inconsistent start to the season for the reigning champions, one that would have seen them lose three league games in succession for the first time in 12 years had Sunderland built on Craig Gardner taking advantage of shambolic defending to break the deadlock early on.

That they didn’t was down to a couple of glaring misses, and a wonder save from David De Gea to thwart Emanuele Giaccherini before Januzaj converted crosses from Patrice Evra and Nani to leave the hosts bottom of the table and without a top flight win for six months.

“He’s not shy,” Rooney added of the ultra-confident front put on by the match-winner.

“That’s great to see. A lot of the young players who come through are a little bit timid and shy, but he looks comfortable and he’s confident in his own ability, which you need to be. He thrives on pressure.”

Albania and Belgium remain favourites to fight it out for the international allegiance of the dual-nationality Januzaj, although on the grounds of residency, he could still conceivably pull on an England shirt, however remote that might be.

Rooney is not alone in admitting his confusion over the matter. “He’s been here since he was 16, but I’m not sure of the rules. I’m certain the FA will be doing everything they need to do to get him to play for England.”

Similarly, Sunderland are doing everything in their power to extend their seven-season stay in the top flight. Despite interim head coach Kevin Ball succeeding in improving spirit and performance, they still have just one point from seven games and the future looks bleak.

“It could have been different,” Jozy Altidore, the forward who remains without a goal since his summer arrival on Wearside, insisted. “But we can’t keep on saying that.”

Ball remains the easy option to replace Paolo Di Canio full-time, but the board may have to be a little more adventurous — though not as outlandish as when opting for the hastily disposed of Italian — in their next appointment to give them a fighting chance of survival.

“Whatever happens, we’re confident we can lift ourselves up and turn our season around,” Altidore said. i

So will it be Southampton in front of an Old Trafford full-house when the Premier League returns on October 19 for the new darling of the Stretford End? Or will it be Goodison Park for the U21s two days later, played out before a rather more modest audience?

Moyes kept his options open.

“Will he play in the reserves again? Yes. That’s the way we do things at Manchester United, to keep it right as part of a player’s development. But the way he has performed, he deserves to be in the first team.”

SUNDERLAND (4-1-4-1): Westwood 7; Celustka 7, O’Shea 5, Roberge 5, Colback 6; Cattermole 7; Johnson 6 (Ji 64, 4), Gardner 7 (Larsson 56, 5), Ki 6 (Wickham 74, 3), Giaccherini 7; Altidore 6.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): De Gea 7; Rafael 6 (Smalling 85, 5), Jones 5, Vidic 5, Evra 7; Nani 6 (Welbeck 76, 6), Carrick 6, Cleverley 6, Januzaj 9 (Valencia 76, 6); Van Persie 6, Rooney 6.

Referee: Chris Foy 6.