Adnan Januzaj is back at Old Trafford after a spell in Germany
BERLIN, January 7 – Adnan Januzaj is back with Manchester United after his loan deal with Borussia Dortmund was cancelled.
United sent the Belgium forward on a season-long loan to the German club in August in order for him to gain more experience, but he has started just three matches – all in the Europa League – and his only playing time in the Bundesliga came off the substitutes’ bench.
There was no release clause inserted into Januzaj’s loan contract when it was signed, but the clubs have agreed that it is in their best interests to terminate the deal.
The relevant paperwork was exchanged on Thursday and the loan agreement was annulled.
A United statement read: “Borussia Dortmund has agreed to cancel the loan agreement for Adnan Januzaj. Adnan will rejoin the first-team squad immediately.
“He has returned to Manchester in order to clarify the details.”
Januzaj, whose last appearance was in Dortmund’s 1-0 Europa League defeat to PAOK Salonika on December 10, is understood to have stayed in Manchester over the Christmas period and was in the Old Trafford directors’ box for the game against Chelsea on December 28.
United have until 5pm on Friday to register him for Saturday’s FA Cup third-round tie against Sheffield United, although boss Louis van Gaal may decide to ease him back into the first-team set-up after a couple of games for the U21 side.
United will not be able to loan the 20-year-old out again as he has already played for the Red Devils this year – he featured four times in August before joining Dortmund – and FIFA rules state players are not allowed to play for more than two clubs per season.
Van Gaal had warned Januzaj last year he was taking a risk by joining Dortmund, rather than a lower-profile club where he would have been guaranteed to play more.
“In a club like Borussia Dortmund, all the players there are also of a certain level and I said in advance ‘that’s a big risk for you because you have to compete with other players of a higher level’ and that is not so easy,” the United manager said in November.
-By Sky Sports-
