Manchester United land Japanese star

Manchester United finally agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund for the talented Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa.  The transfer is thought to be in the region of £12m but could rise to £17m based on appearances and success during his period at the club.

Kagawa has been instrumental for Dortmund over the past two years and has helped them to two consecutive Bundesliga titles, scoring 24 goals in a total of 56 games for the club.

His arrival adds some much needed quality into a bare-looking Manchester United attacking force, and the likes of Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing with someone who creates so many chances for his teammates.  Kagawa was always regarded as a huge talent at Dortmund, but he started to become noticed to the rest of Europe when he took over the main playmaker role due to the hip injury suffered by Mario Götze.  He was playing in this role when Sir Alex watched him in the German Cup Final where his Dortmund side thrashed Bayern Munich 5-2, Kagawa was, again, crucial to his side’s success that evening as he scored and provided an assist as well.

Not only will Kagawa add quality to this United side, he will also expand what is already a massive global brand.  He will arrive as the first Japanese player to ever represent Manchester United and this will no doubt boost shirt sales in the Asian market.

Sir Alex will now be on the lookout for players of a similar role due to the fact that he missed out on Eden Hazard who opted to join Chelsea, and now the Portuguese international winger Nani is evaluating his options regarding his future.  Ferguson may now reignite his interest in either Luka Modrić or Wesley Sneijder to provide the ageing Paul Scholes with some help in the midfield department.

The signing of Shinji Kagawa is a clever move by Sir Alex Ferguson — in a market where unproven players are worth in the region of £30m, he has gone out there, done his research and snapped up one of Europe’s most influential playmakers for half that price.  Kagawa already has a winning mentality instilled in him through his triumphs at Dortmund, and if you want to be a success at Manchester United, having a winner’s attitude is expected of you from the get go. 

 Alex Smith