Manchester United: Five handy facts on Shinji Kagawa
Sir Alex Ferguson has looked to the Far East to improve his squad for the new campaign by signing Japanese international Shinji Kagawa. The midfielder was instrumental in helping German giants Borrusia Dortmund to successive league titles along with the German Cup last season, but there are still millions of fans out there who know very little about the mercurial talent.
Here are five handy facts on Manchester United’s latest recruit.
1. Kagawa is going to bring the average age of the United midfield down considerably. Born on March 17, 1989, the former Borrusia Dortmund man is only 23 years old but he has bags of experience, having already represented his country 33 times, scoring in 11 of them.
2. Kagawa is something of a fortune teller. Before playing Dortmund’s arch rivals Schalke 04 in his debut season he told anyone who would care to listen that he would score twice in the game. True to form, Kagawa notched a brace in a 3-1 win for The Black Yellows. I wonder if he can tell me what Friday’s Euromillions numbers will be?
3. Kagawa is an attacking midfielder with an eye for goal. He scored 17 times for Dortmund last season and chipped in with 13 assists. In total his record for the Germans was 21 goals in 49 appearances. Not bad for a youngster plying his trade in a different continent. Sir Alex will be hoping Kagawa can show that kind of form in the Premier League.
4. Kagawa started his professional career at Cerezo Osaka in 2006 and spent four years at the club before Borrusia Dortmund snapped him up for just 350,000 euros. Sir Alex Ferguson has reportedly spent somewhere between £12 and £17 million for the youngster. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger would be proud of making a profit like that!
5. Talking of Arsenal, Kagawa has already scored on English soil. During a Champions League fixture in November at the Emirates, the attack-minded midfielder slotted past Wojciech Szczesny to grab a late consolation for Dortmund.
In case you haven’t yet seen Kagawa in action yet here is a little compilation of the youngster in action.
Kagawa has all the tools to succeed at Manchester United and in the Premier League. He's quick, has a low centre of gravity and amazing quick feet. Kagawa is first and foremost a team player and that will grabbed Sir Alex's attention straight away. The fact he can run at defenders, play a defence splitting pass and score goals to boot just made him even more attractive to the Scot.
Calling all Manchester United fans: What do you think of your new recruit? Can Kagawa really be a legend at Old Trafford? Will he be able to cut it in the English Premier League? Will Kagawa be the man to get United back in amongst the silverware come May? Whatever your views, we'd love to hear from you.
