West Ham United is a possible destination for Adnan Januzaj this summer.
The Lowdown: Januzaj out of contract
The 15-time Belgium international’s contract is up at Real Sociedad this summer and will not be renewed (via SportWitness).
The former Manchester United prospect made the move to La Liga in July 2017 for £9.8m, but will now be out of contract at the end of the month and searching for a new club.
The Latest: Moyes reunion could be on the cards
Moyes and Januzaj have previously worked together before, during the Scotsman’s ill-fated ten months as United manager during the 2013/14 season.
And a reunion has been touted as a possibility by El Desmarque, who also suggest that Barcelona and Roma could be possible destinations for the 27-year-old.
The Verdict: Sensible option as a free agent
Whilst the signing of Januzaj may not have been the top target on most Irons fans’ wish list this summer, the potential to sign an experienced top-flight regular on a free is something that would likely appeal to both Moyes and the club.
Moyes used the current Sociedad man on 35 occasions during his time at Old Trafford, suggesting that the current Hammers boss rated the Belgian international highly enough to give him regular appearances.
United legend and former teammate of Januzaj, Paul Scholes has previously described the 27-year-old as “brilliant” after the Belgian impressed for Sociedad against his former employers.
The £10.8m-rated man scored three goals in La Liga this season, working out at 0.17 goals per 90 minutes, according to FBref.
According to the same stats provider, he started 17 games from 33 appearances this season, suggesting that he has not been a particularly regular starter at the La Liga club this campaign, and may well be used as a squad rotation option should he join Moyes’ side.
FBref also suggests that he doesn’t quite attempt dribbles as much as he used to, having totalled 108 attempts when he first joined Sociedad in the 2017-18 season, but now only totalling 85, from which 43 were successful this campaign.
His La Liga performances this campaign have earned him a SofaScore average rating of 6.81 for the season just gone, suggesting that he is a steady if unspectacular performer when called upon.
Whilst you wouldn’t ideally be wanting GSB paying a transfer fee for a player with relatively average stats, signing as a free agent might not be the worst idea, and would give Moyes some depth for next season’s Premier League and Europa Conference League balancing act.
In other news, West Ham are on the hunt for a striker this summer
