Manchester United’s forward options should be not solved by Adnan Januzaj or Harry Kane – that’s the opinion of Red Devils legend Gordon Hill, who has been left disappointed with talk of either player leading the line.
First up Januzaj. The Belgian youngster has been linked with a loan move to Sunderland but his bulking up over the summer has left some to suggest he may be a good option to play in United’s front line as a striker.
Hill is not averse to the player going on loan but feels it is too soon for him to be United’s main striker – and feels it could be a pivotal year for the player who wears his number 11 shirt.
‘Adnan Januzaj has a big year in front of him. He had a good breakthrough year and got a lot of criticism for not reaching the same standards last season. I’m not sure he’ll be a good centre forward but it’s a big year,’ says Hill. ‘It’s like Harry Kane, who will have a lot of pressure this year. There has been talk of United moving for him but I would wait some time. We don’t know much about his reliability – is he as good as a Suarez? No, he’s not. And United need star quality that is assured.’
Hill’s issue with Kane is not the player himself – he feels the player can develop into a star player but it is too soon to make that judgement with a big money move. For Gordon, the problem lies in the development of young players in the UK, something he has been passionate about for many years.
‘You’re not letting players discover themselves,’ he insists. ‘To me it’s the same old, same old and try as I might, I never end up really encouraged by what I see. And it’s so difficult because I keep banging the same old drum… On the training pitch I practice what I preach by encouraging young players to enjoy the game and try different things… while I’m away in the US, I always hear the same noises about how encouraged everyone is about the state of the game in the UK, but I go back for months at a time and realise nothing really has changed. It really is upsetting.’
