Januzaj was born in Brussels and Belgium want him to be part of their golden generation. His father is Albanian and his son feels special empathy with that country, too.
Yet Albania have never made it to a major international tournament and currently lie fifth of sixth teams in World Cup qualifying Group E. Even so, Januzaj has until now rejected the chance to represent Belgium at Under 18 and Under 19 level, saying Albania would be his preferred choice.
Rising star: Manchester United youngster Adnan Januzaj was spotted on Sunday in Manchester city centre
Retail therapy: Januzaj earned a shopping trip after his brace against Sunderland handed United the win
The one country he cannot play for, however, is his country of employment. It really is ridiculous even to speculate about Januzaj in an England shirt.
Morally, it would not be right and, in principle, it would contravene an agreement with the other home nations.
Roy Hodgson may have tentatively entertained the idea at the weekend following Januzaj’s match-winning display for Manchester United against Sunderland, but it truly is a non-starter.
Leave morality aside for a moment, the idea that the Football Association should act like an elite club and entice a player away from a nation that it perceives to be inferior with the promise of fame and fortune (not success, because young Adnan only has to check the record books to see how much chance he has of that with England).
Even were the FA nakedly to pursue this goal, they would have to ignore the Home Nations Agreement, recently amended so that it no longer offers eligibility through residency.
The new arrangement states that a player not connected to a territory by birth or parentage must have undergone five years’ education before the age of 18 to be eligible. Just living here until 2018 would not make Januzaj English even though that would meet FIFA’s guidelines.
There is no reason why Hodgson should be familiar with these intricacies, although he appeared admirably dubious about the ethics of such a pursuit. Having confirmed that Januzaj was on England’s radar, he added: ‘Of course, this will have to be seriously debated before we start nationalising players.’
Hodgson is a decent man and he knows that, deep down, it isn’t right to poach or steal. The rush, a few years ago, to solve England’s manpower crisis with ringers from abroad was unseemly and unwholesome.
Disbelief: Januzaj scored two well-taken goals to spare Manchester United's blushes in the North East
You beauty: Januzaj's second strike was a sumptuous volley from the left-hand side of the area
Sven Goran Eriksson — who was passing through English football himself, so why shouldn’t his team be doing the same — considered Carlo Cudicini, Edu, Steed Malbranque and Louis Saha.
There was a discussion around Mikel Arteta during Fabio Capello’s time in charge, no doubt for the same pragmatic reasons.
For technically, yes, Januzaj could be English — if the FA were prepared to behave in the most cynical manner imaginable and reject a private agreement.
Yet this would also require giving the hard sell to a teenager who is already wrestling with middle European loyalties and ancestries, and who does not need a bunch of flash Harrys bowling into town filling his mind with Greg Dyke’s vision for 2022.
We will find out soon enough what Januzaj wants to be. What he should never be is fodder for opportunists — or a risible solution to a problem that is entirely of English football’s own making.
Speculative? Roy Hodgson (centre) admitted England have their eyes on Belgian Januzaj
No go: Carlo Cudicini (left, Italian) and Mikel Arteta (right, Spanish) were both considered for an England berth
Leading man: Everton owner Bill Kenwright
A curious little pronouncement slipped out of Elland Road last week. Leeds United chairman Salah Nooruddin said he was hopeful the club would soon be in talks with a new investor. This individual, he said, would be able to take Leeds to the next level.
Meanwhile, at Reading, a deadline of September 30 has passed without owner Anton Zingarevich completing his takeover from local businessman Sir John Madejski. Zingarevich was elevating Reading to the next level, too. He was buying 51 per cent of the club in a deal due for completion in March. Since then, Reading have been relegated and are presently outside the play-off spots in the Championship. Perhaps this was not the next level Zingarevich was anticipating.
It is the Holy Grail, this next level. Every new owner seeks it. Those that haven’t attained it want to desperately. Bill Kenwright has been looking for a man to take Everton to the next level for years. Where that level might be, considering the bottom half of the table is full of clubs run by next levellers, is a mystery.
Kenwright is one of the greatest owners in the history of English football in that, at a time when financial clout matters more than ever, he has maintained Everton as a competitive force, provided for one of the finest academy systems in the Premier League and remained faithful and supportive of his managers.
There are owners with more money; but, now clubs are tied by financial fair play regulations, they would not necessarily be better off.
And, as Leeds United fans are discovering, this next level is something of a myth. Gulf Finance House Capital are the majority owners of the club — Nooruddin bought 10 per cent from them in March — and their arrival was widely welcomed as providing the impetus to return Leeds to the Premier League. GFH spoke of a sustainable future but also of winning promotion as quickly as possible.
More than a year on from when negotiations began, Leeds remain a mid-ranking Championship club and, suddenly, a mystery investor is charged with financing their leap forward.
The penny has dropped for GFH just as it appears to have for Zingarevich. The next level costs. A business must first invest heavily; whereas football’s brochure, with its talk of global markets and television deals measured in billions, makes ownership sound like money for jam.
Earlier this season, Nooruddin stated that GFH Capital were attracted by Leeds’ potential. Right back at you, pal. That is what attracted Leeds to their Dubai-based owners, too: a bunch of rich Arabs who would be clearly willing to throw money at a football club in pursuit of a dream.
Deadline passed: Sir John Madejski and Reading owner Anton Zingarevich
It’s a two-way street, this next level. The welcome wagon is wheeled out for a reason. Yet, far from being the sugar daddies, GFH Capital’s plan is to create a further consortium of like-minded shareholders.
There is no such thing. If Nooruddin’s new investor purchases, say, 25 per cent of the club, why would he want a guy with an inferior stake calling the shots? Remember the famous Red Knights consortium who were going to buy Manchester United?
What was never resolved was how the majority of the 60 millionaires investing £10m each were going to sit idly by and let an exclusive cabal call the shots.
Lenin did not inspire the Russian revolution so any old Bolshevik could take charge and nobody buys a football club to let Mr Ten Per Cent play the transfer market.
The immediate return to the Premier League is also more of a slow-burner for Leeds now, with Nooruddin saying Brian McDermott is under no pressure to make it happen this season and speaking instead of a three-year plan. As the previous regime, led by Ken Bates, was unpopular, most supporters are very patient with GFH.
Even so, the shift in emphasis from go-getters to fundraisers is a grim and very modern twist.
There are a lot of new owners with big talk and big plans but a true game changer, like Roman Abramovich or Sheik Mansour, is rare.
Wealthy investors: Roman Abramovich (left) at
Chelsea and Sheik Mansour (right) at Manchester City are popular with
fans of their Premier League clubs
If Arsenal have transfer market wealth now, it is because the club were set up long term to grow that way and because the manager is sometimes visited by genius — not because of Stan Kroenke’s largesse. Randy Lerner at Aston Villa caught sight of the next level realised how much it would cost, and balked.
Who knows what the next level is for Newcastle or Sunderland?
Meanwhile, the wealthy Arabs that were going to deliver Leeds to the Premier League are scouting for wealthier Arabs to give their rhetoric meaning, while Reading’s oligarch hunts for his wallet.
Meet the new boss; not so very different to the old boss. Except they don’t make too many like Kenwright.
AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT...
Sunderland will now use the international break to appoint a new manager. The suggestion is that they have been taking the time since Paolo Di Canio left to investigate their options. Alternately, they were getting the matches with Liverpool and Manchester United out of the way to give the new man half a chance of a winning start.
Use your head! Qataris unveiled this bronze statue of Zinedine Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi
Twitter troubles
Sir Alan Sugar posted a rather unfunny joke on Twitter — he is to wit what Spike Milligan was to value electrical goods — and was investigated over an allegation of racism. He uploaded a photograph of three babies of Asian extraction with the caption: ‘The kid in the middle is upset because he was told off for leaving the production line of the iPhone 5.’ It’s the way he tells them.
Anyway, some idiot took offence, called Sugar a racist on Twitter and the Merseyside Police Hate Crime Investigation Unit did the rest.
Twitter spat: Sir Alan Sugar (centre) was accused of being racist by one user on Twitter
Unsurprisingly, they concluded there was no case to answer. The complainant can’t be very bright if she thought Asian kids were the target, not Apple’s use of intensive child labour.
Even so, it is interesting to note the title of an exhibition at the Jewish Museum in London commemorating the faith’s contribution to football in Britain: Four Four Jew. Put that in a newspaper headline about Jewish players and see what happens. Twitter meltdown among the legions of the permanently outraged. Perhaps we need to do more thinking and less finger pointing.
Platini in a pickle
Having been so keen to bring a winter World Cup to Qatar, it is rather amusing the competition that looks to be getting screwed to accommodate this Faustian pact is Michel Platini’s precious Champions League.
Once again, the UEFA president had not thought his big idea through.
He had not spotted that the winter World Cup he envisaged taking place in January or February would clash with the 2022 Winter Olympics, making it unacceptable to major broadcasters and the International Olympic Committee.
Pickled Platini: UEFA President Michel Platini (right) may see his Champions League affected by a winter World Cup
The new date being discussed, November and December, would play havoc with the calendar for UEFA competitions — from the Champions League to the qualifying rounds for the 2024 European Championships. No doubt Platini thinks this won’t be his problem as he will be FIFA president by then.
Even so, before that, it will still be embarrassing for him to explain to his stakeholders how his thoughtless vote has inconvenienced the very competitions it is his duty to protect.
There will be much more of this as other Platini schemes unravel. A good administrator sweats the small stuff — and he doesn’t.
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