The match winning impact that teenage sensation Adnan Januzaj had on his Premier League debut against Sunderland was never in any doubt according to Manchester United boss David Moyes.
The 18-year-old Belgian wonder-kid was the difference between the two sides on Saturday after his spectacular brace killed off the Black Cats’ chance of an upset.
The United manager felt that it wasn’t a gamble playing Januzaj and he was tempted to start the youngster in a few earlier Premier League games.
“I see Adnan in training every day, I saw him on tour and actually he’s even got better since coming back from the tour.” The Scot told United’s website.
“There were a couple of games when I was going to start him. I just felt that until we got a bit of momentum into our play, I thought we had to wait. As it was, he’s looked as good as anybody in training so I thought he deserved to play.”
United came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1 at the Stadium of Light and end a run of three games without a win.
Januzaj became only the second United player to score twice on their Premier League debut following in the footsteps of Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Moyes was quick to praise his goals.
“I actually really enjoyed the first one. He got hold of it, played it out wide, followed it into the box and ended up scoring from about the penalty spot.”
Moyes also admitted the biggest challenge now is to keep the Belgian grounded and fend off interest from rival clubs including Manchester City who are expected try and lure the youngster away with a long-term contract offer.
“He’s a really good talent but Manchester United will keep his feet on the ground.”
“I’ve had that experience with Wayne and one or two other players. We’ll just make sure he’s not treated any different and try not to get the media too hyped up about him.”
“But it’s difficult not to talk about a boy when he puts in a performance like that and he scores two goals. But he deserves it. He’s a really humble boy and grounded boy. I’ve not got too many fears about him.”
Image courtesy of MUTV via YouTube, with thanks
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