Shinji Kagawa – The Rising Son of English Premier League’s Manchester United

When Manchester United made their first raid on this summer’s transfer market, many eyebrows were raised when Sir Alex Ferguson did business with German Champions Borussia Dortmund for Japanese sensation Shinji Kagawa.

When the speculation started and the rumour mill started to spin, the man from Japan was way down the list of potential prospects.

However once United landed their new number 26, his talent was soon exhibited with a number of dazzling performances on the Reds pre-season tour matches and he fully justified to the world why he was included in the last two Bundesliga teams of the season.

Shinji’s road to the biggest club on Earth started with Japanese club side Cerezo Osaka where he became the first player in Japan to sign a professional contract before graduating from high school. After an impressive four-year spell where he scored 55 league goals in 125 league games, Shinji caught the eye of German giants Borussia Dortmund, who snapped up the youngster cut-price £350,000 deal.

and after an impressive first half-season, Kagawa then scored 17 goals and made 10 assists in Dortmund’s title winning campaign in 2011/2012.

After proving himself in a one of Europe’s toughest leagues, several big clubs soon expressed their interest in the goal-scoring playmaker.

United have had previous success with signing an Asian player from one of Europe’s top clubs with Ji-Sung Park becoming a Manchester United legend and terrace favourite after his seven year spell at Old Trafford following his move from PSV Eindhoven.

Kagawa, who is a confident dribbler, also has radar like passing vision in the mould of Paul Scholes. His eye for goal from midfield is an attribute that Manchester United has been lacking in recent years and his creativity statistics speak for themself.

Shinji Kagawa has all the attributes to be a Manchester United midefielder, and the combination of his hardworking attitude and football skills could help him continue to rise as a player and potentially become one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s greatest ever signings.

via Shinji Kagawa – The Rising Son.