What happened to Adnan Januzaj – Man Utd prospect tipped to be 'next Ryan Giggs'

Former Manchester United starlet Adnan Januzaj has had a rollercoaster career since leaving Old Trafford.

Januzaj, now 29, looked to have the world at his feet after emerging from United's academy in 2013, and was the one bright spark in an otherwise dismal 2013/14 season for the club. He failed to nail down a starting spot and left a few years, but after scoring the winner for Belgium against England at the 2018 World Cup, hopes were high that he could still make it at the top.

However, he has only played for Belgium six more times since then, and his club form hasn't been much better, as per the Mirror. Here, we take a look at what the Brussels-born star has been up to.

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Januzaj first broke into the United team under David Moyes. But he found it difficult to get game time under Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. He spent part of the 2015/16 season on loan at Borussia Dortmund, where he struggled to impress Thomas Tuchel. The following season, he reunited with Moyes at Sunderland.

But he didn't have the best of stints in the north east, with Sunderland getting relegated and Januzaj failing to score a single goal in 25 games.

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But a subsequent move to Real Sociedad proved a masterstroke, and after finding his feet in Spain he was picked for Roberto Martinez's World Cup team. However, in a team featuring the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, he only played in the game against England and sat on the bench for the rest of the matches.

But back at Soeciedad he continued to improve, especially under the coach Imanol Alguacil. His best season was in 2019/20 when he scored eight times, including a super important goal against Atletico Madrid that helped La Real get into Europe.

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Alguacil shared, "Januzaj, the day of the Sevilla match, was really injured and had not trained, but he wanted to be called up [against Atletico], and I said no," as reported by Marca. "You know that, with me, whoever doesn't train does not play."

"So he then told me that he would not travel to Madrid, and I laughed and joked to [assistant coach] Labaka: 'Look at this guy, he says he is not going to travel to Madrid, and he will, and he will end up taking us to Europe.' In the end he travelled, played injured and scored the goal that got us into Europe."

That Europa League campaign brought a reunion with former club Manchester United. Alguacil's side finished second in their group behind Napoli, setting up a play-off round meeting with United after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team could only muster third spot in their Champions League group.

Before the game, United icon Paul Scholes acknowledged Januzaj needed to leave Old Trafford to kick-start his career. "The talent no doubt was there. It's still there, he's doing really well at Sociedad. I think it's been a good change for him," he told MUTV.

"He showed glimpses when he first came into United's first team, that he had the ability that we all knew he had. For some reason it just didn't work out and he's had to go elsewhere."

Sadly for Real Sociedad, that meeting ended in a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate loss, with United going all the way to the final. Januzaj remained at the club until 2022 when he moved to Sevilla - though he really struggled for game time at the seven-time Europa League-winners.

A few months later he joined Istanbul Basaksehir in search of more game time, but returned to Sevilla after a disappointing half-season spell. This season has been a tricky one for Sevilla, who are onto their third permanent manager of the season. Januzaj made a late cameo from the bench in current boss Quique Sanchez Flores' first game in charge, but has yet to start in the league since returning from his loan.

"The boys are professionals and each one understands the degree of demand in a different way, but I have to place that demand at a higher level for him and Rafa Mir," Sanchez Flores said in February. "After having gone to them in the times of absolute necessity, there is no time to lower the bar now.

"Anyone who does not meet that requirement either reaches it, or cannot play. Now things change, it is not enough to be a good professional but you have to have the necessary commitment to defend the Sevilla shirt."

Januzaj is under contract until 2026, but has played just one minute since those comments from the manager and may well feel his future lies elsewhere. That winner against England feels a long time ago.