United teenager Januzaj ready for European stage
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 23, 2013, 09:27
The 18-year-old, who scored both goals in this month`s 2-1 Premier League win at Sunderland on his first start for the English champions, was not in United`s squad for their opening two Group A games in Europe`s elite club competition.
"Januzaj is available," manager David Moyes told a news conference on Tuesday. "He`s an exciting young player and he`s making good progress all the time. He`s someone who, I`m sure, will play a big part in the future of Manchester United.
"He`s an exceptional talent."
The Brussels-born 18-year-old, whose parents are Kosovar-Albanians, joined United from Anderlecht in 2011 and is being chased by the Belgian and Albanian football associations who want him to decide which national team he wants to play for.
United are level on four points with Shakhtar Donetsk before hosting La Liga side Sociedad, who have yet to pick up a point. Bayer Leverkusen are also in the group with three points.
United central defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are doubtful for the game, having missed Saturday`s 1-1 draw at home to Southampton, while Moyes said forward Danny Welbeck and midfielder Tom Cleverley might recover from knocks in time.
United and Sociedad have endured lacklustre starts to their domestic campaigns, sitting eighth and 12th in their respective leagues, and will be aiming to raise their game.
"We`re disappointed, yes. Our own performance hasn`t been up to scratch, especially in possession," United defender Jonny Evans told reporters before the match at Old Trafford.
"We`ve been quite sloppy and we haven`t been controlling games as well as we would have liked. I think Southampton probably controlled the game a bit better than we did.
"The onus is on us. We know we haven`t played well enough as individuals or as a team. We want to make sure we raise our performance and produce better performances." Reuters ------------------------- ZEENEWS.com
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