Adnan: Tours Crucial For Youth

Having caught the eye with a string of impressive performances during the 2013 Tour of Asia and Australia, Adnan Januzaj believes the importance of pre-season trips cannot be underestimated in the development of young players.

The Belgium attacker was a regular fixture in the starting line-up on last year's tour and his competent displays were more than enough to convince then-manager David Moyes that Januzaj would have a prominent part to play in the ensuing campaign.

Although World Cup commitments could prevent Adnan from taking part in Tour 2014, presented by Aon, the young starlet is hopeful that another one of the Reds' young protégés could go on to emulate his success.

"[The tour] is very important. That’s where you have a chance to show your qualities and you get your training [base] for the rest of the season," the forward told ManUtd.com earlier this month.

"It’s good for the young lads to improve over there and show the manager what you can do.

"When I went on tour I knew some of the lads already form the Reserves, but I started to learn more about everyone and how the club works."

Adnan also spoke of how the tour enables players that are new to the first-team fold to truly appreciate the size of the club worldwide, whilst also readying themselves for the campaign ahead.

"When I saw all the fans I was impressed," Januzaj added.

"I saw that United are one of the biggest clubs in the world. I learnt a lot over there with the lads and the coaches, how it works and how to get ready for the season."

New manager Louis van Gaal and his United side will kick of this year's pre-season tour on 23 July against LA Galaxy, before taking part in the International Champions Cup with games to follow against AS Roma (26 July in Denver), Inter Milan (29 July in Washington DC) and newly-crowned Champions League winners Real Madrid (2 August in Ann Arbor).