Manchester United's head of first-team development Nicky Butt has revealed that Adnan Januzaj is the club's 'biggest disappointment' and he should have 'been a superstar.'
The current team at Old Trafford has a lot of young players with huge potential, with Mason Greenwood leading the line of those knocking on the door of the first team, and on Sunday the Red Devils will have a youth team product in their ranks for the 4000th match in a row.
Some of those, like the Class of 92, have become world class players whilst others have fallen away. Speaking to ESPN Nicky Butt named Januzaj as the most disappointing of those to have come through the doors.
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"For me, the biggest disappointment at this club was Adnan Januzaj," Butt said, "I don't think I've seen a player, probably since Ryan [Giggs], who was as good as that. He was unbelievable. In my eyes he should have gone on to be a world superstar.
"He's still playing professional football and he will have a good career. I'm sure he's a millionaire and he won't be going to bed worrying about what bills he's got to pay, but he should have been a superstar."
Januzaj joined the Red Devils in 2011, moving to the senior team in 2013. He was an unused substitute in Sir Alex Ferguson's last game in charge and then made his debut under David Moyes.
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He scored twice in his first start, against Sunderland, as United won 2-1 and he looked set to be a star but he played less under Louis van Gaal before being sent out on loan to Borussia Dortmund where things didn't go well.
The 24-year-old joined back up with Moyes at Sunderland on loan before eventually moving to Real Sociedad on a permanent deal, where the Belgian is in his third season.
Butt knows what making your way through the youth ranks at United is all about, having done it with the class of 92' and said it takes more than just talent, "Talent gets you through the gate here but what will keep you here is character and commitment."
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Speaking about two of the current crop of players to have come up, Scott McTominay and Brandon Williams, Butt added, "With Scott and Brandon, that's just character. Character with talent and not talent with character. It's a never-say-die attitude, a will to win. They are both talented footballers, but to get to where they have got is down to their attitude."
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