Adnan Januzaj admits he is uncertain over his long-term future following a difficult time on loan at Sunderland from Manchester United.
The Belgium international moved to the Stadium of Light in August to link up with former United boss David Moyes, under whom he enjoyed a superb breakthrough campaign in 2013-14.
Januzaj has struggled to hit the heights of those performances since then and has yet to score in 19 Premier League appearances this season, having spent a similarly frustrating loan spell at Borussia Dortmund last term.
The 22-year-old insists he will be stronger for the experience of playing his part in a relegation battle, but is unclear where he will be playing next term.
It has been very difficult because it is not easy to go from Man United to Sunderland, he told The Northern Echo. I had to just do it. I will learn from it because I am 22.
People think I am 26 or 27 – I am only 22. I know people want more from me. The other side of it is that they have to look at other parts of my game.
When I leave here I know I will be happy. I have learned a lot and it will make me stronger. I don t know where I will be, but I will feel much fitter and will be happy.
Januzaj revealed it was difficult to adapt to a system in which his first thought must be to defend, but he says he has enjoyed playing in recent weeks despite Sunderland sitting bottom of the table.
I have been used to going into a team that tends to be winning, he said. Now, this team has been losing and has been used to losing in recent years. I didn t know what was happening at first, but I am enjoying it now, enjoying playing football.
It is hard. When you are in a team that sees more of the ball, then you re able to do more with the ball. Now, we defend more. It is not easy because you have to counterattack and when you do, you tend to have three or four players around you.
Sometimes, it is not easy to find that last pass. I am one of the dangerous players, but my mindset here is to defend first and then attack.
