The stats suggest Shinji Kagawa has declined in several key areas from last season.
Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa continues to be linked with a return to Borussia Dortmund with BVB defender Mats Hummels admitting earlier this week that the Japanese star would be welcomed back at the German giants.
Kagawa has been made to endure a frustrating career at Old Trafford so far, which has seen Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and now Ryan Giggs all use him in a left midfield role.
He’s a popular character with United fans because when he does play through the middle, he’s been very effective.
So why is it a good idea for United to take £20 million should the German side offer it?
In short, the stats suggest that across five key areas (goals, assists, shots on target, passes and interceptions) he’s only improved in one area from the player who played for Sir Alex Ferguson last season.
2012/2013 over 2013/2014
| Club | Pos | Goals | Goal Assist | Ontarget Scoring Att | Interception Won | Total Pass | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinji Kagawa | Manchester United | MF | 6 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 834 | 20 | 1,325 |
| Club | Pos | Goals | Goal Assist | Ontarget Scoring Att | Interception Won | Total Pass | Apps | Mins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinji Kagawa | Man Utd | MF | 0 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 619 | 16 | 1,035 |
The one area Kagawa has improved this season is how he reads the game but the stats suggest that if BVB made a good offer for him, United may well take it and it won’t damage their squad too badly.
Whoever is appointed as new Manchester United manager in the summer may choose to solidify that left wing, which means Kagawa could be forced to endure even less game time than he’s been given over the last two seasons.
Manchester United’s primary attacking midfielder and number ten is Juan Mata and with United playing fewer games next season due to having no European football, the new boss will be able to use the Spaniard more frequently rather than rotate with Kagawa through the middle.
That will simply leave Kagawa making more appearances from the subs bench and increasing his frustration to a point where any negotiations on extending his contract beyond 2016 could prove pointless.
Kagawa is a good player who simply hasn’t made the impact at Manchester United that many expected and with two-years left to run on his current deal, United should snap Jurgen Klopp’s hand off.
Unless he moves to Old Trafford himself that is.
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