Adnan Januzaj, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Antonio Valencia will reportedly be among the first players to be axed by Jose Mourinho if he takes over at Manchester United.
According to an exclusive from Neil Custis in the Sun, Mourinho agreed a three-year deal with the Red Devils on Tuesday, May 24, 2016, and the trio will be “the first casualties” of the Special One’s reign.
Januzaj burst onto the scene during David Moyes’ brief tenure at Old Trafford as an 18-year-old and impressed with his dribbling and desire to get forward.
However, he failed to kick on under Louis van Gaal—he made just 21 appearances last season and was loaned out to Borussia Dortmund for the first half of this campaign. He made just 12 outings for the German side, where he completed 90 minutes only twice.
Per Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News, upon his return to United in January, Januzaj was largely ignored by the Dutchman:
Why bring back Januzaj because he’s not getting enough games then not put him on when you need a goal.
Indeed, the 21-year-old featured for just 17 minutes in United’s senior side since returning to Old Trafford. Unsurprisingly, he has not been selected for Belgium’s UEFA European Championship squad, per the MEN’s Samuel Luckhurst.
Though he’s still young, his career has taken something of a nosedive in the last two seasons. If given time and confidence, he could still salvage his United career, but with Mourinho in need of instant results it would not be a surprise if he was sold or loaned out again—another season of youth football will do little for his development.
Schweinsteiger was among United’s most exciting arrivals last summer.
The 2014 World Cup winner has long been considered one of Europe’s finest midfielders, though he has struggled for fitness in recent years. That was this case in his debut campaign with the Red Devils, as injury restricted him to just two appearances in 2016.
Bundesliga expert Clark Whitney believes it was a mistake to sign him:
MUFC signing a past-prime Schweinsteiger last summer was endemic of their transfer problems. A year later, AFC to sign the next Basti, Xhaka
Indeed, it could be argued that a player with Schweinsteiger’s limited mobility was not the ideal addition to a midfield already containing Michael Carrick and Marouane Fellaini.
However, when fit he’s still able to control games in the centre and his distribution adds a touch of class. Further, football writer Liam Canning believes he could be of use by passing his experience on to United’s youngsters:
Bastian can be a great mentor to the youth at #MUFC – like Memphis. He still has a part to play. RT’s appreciated.
