In the summer of 2014, Manchester United fans were buzzing with excitement to see their new #11 torment defences up and down the Premier League as Adnan Januzaj had been rewarded for a stellar breakthrough season under David Moyes the year before.
And it was entirely understandable. Januzaj was electrifying in that first season, and it was expected that if Louis Van Gaal could get the rest of the team functioning at all, the Belgian would continue to progress.
SEE ALSO: Watch: Adnan Januzaj’s Debut Season Highlights Are Sign Of What Could Have Been
Instead, we never saw "the boy who can do anything" as the fans' song claimed ever again.
His last meaningful act as a United player was scoring a winner at Villa park after LVG deployed him a striker, and just when it was starting to look like he may feature on the back of that match-winner, he was frozen out. In January, desperate for first team football, the club agreed to let him go out on loan.
The costly mistake as far as Man Utd were concerned, was letting Januzaj pick his destination after making it clear he would not get the minutes he desired at the club. A clearly self-confident player, to his own detriment it seems, Adnan chose Borussia Dortmund, where he never managed to break into the side, and was criticised by his coach for his attitude to training.
It was a total disaster.
SEE ALSO: Why Adnan Januzaj’s Loan To Dortmund Is One Of The Worst Deals Ever
Januzaj then needed to respond, so who better than the man under whom he was so exciting to get his game back on track? David Moyes was in charge of Sunderland, and obviously he was more than happy to have someone he was sure was a lethal weapon, he'd seen it with his own eyes...
Instead, Moyes received the new and vastly un-improved Januzaj. His hunger to get the ball and head straight for the goal in as little time as possible was gone, and his attitude stank.
Sunderland fans never warmed to Januzaj, and his lethargic performances were common throughout the whole squad as they were relegated, leaving those who still cared about him to wonder what he was going to do to turn things around once his loan had ended.
You've read this far, so clearly you fall into that bracket. The good news is, he's got a chance to make a name for himself in Spain.
Real Sociedad are confident of landing the Belgian on a permanent deal for a fee in the region of €10m, according to a report in Marca today.
Just one year remains on the midfielder's contract at Old Trafford and the LaLiga outfit are hopeful that Jose Mourinho will allow Januzaj to leave on a permanent deal.
La Real president Jokin Aperribay believes a transfer is a realistic premise although United are believed to want 10 million euros for the 22-year-old.
Negotiating that price down is fundamental to Sociedad's ability to complete the deal and they are likely to offer a high percentage of a future sale fee as a compromise.
You'd have to wonder if David Moyes' links to Sociedad, if they haven't been severed completely, had any part to play in this.
It's clear than Januzaj needs to adjust his attitude if he wants to play at the top level regularly, as there can be no doubting his ability having seen the things he was capable of in that debut season.
Whether or not this is the move to re-ignite his passion for the game remains to be seen, but a lot of Man Utd fans will remain interested in his progress, purely for how remarkable his fall from grace was if for nothing else.
He's still only 22, so don't rule out him establishing a solid career for himself, but at the same time prepare to see a 'Where Are They Now?' featuring Januzaj in a few years time.
