Manchester United need mobility in their team if they are going to get past Bayern Munchen on Wednesday. This season they have been far too workmanlike, taking an eternity to get the ball from back to front – an art which Manchester United have been masters of in the past.
But it’s all been too clunky this season. Manchester United haven’t got in behind the defence quickly or often enough. That’s why we have been crying out for this lad to start. And when Shinji Kagawa left Dortmund there were apparently a lot of tears as one high profile manager felt very strongly about his talents. Jurgen Klopp said:
‘Shinji Kagawa is one of the best players in the world and he now plays 20 minutes at Manchester United – on the left wing!
‘My heart breaks. Really, I have tears in my eyes.
‘But for most Japanese people it means more to play for Man United than Dortmund. We cried for 20 minutes, in each others’ arms, when he left.
Klopp knows that Kagawa is a man for the big occasion. A player who can make things happened in the tightest situations and not be wasteful when chances are at a premium. We have been baffled as to why David Moyes has used him so sparingly for Manchester United this season.
It’s understandable that Moyes prefers not to play Kagawa out wide. He doesn’t have the same impact out there. But, with Mata and RvP both unavailable for Bayern, surely now is the time to employ him in his favourite No.10 role, against opposition that he knows so well.
With Welbeck out wide left and Rooney up top, we could see Kagawa having a big game against Bayern and making the most of the possession that Manchester United do have. He’s one of the few players in the team who can turn on a sixpence and get his head up to find the pass in a split second. He loves quick interplay, can thread the tightest of passes through the defence and makes excellent runs beyond the opposition back line. He’s pacey, mobile, naturally athletic and technically superb – he could be the perfect player to hurt the opposition on Wednesday.
We truly hope, for Manchester United’s sake, that David Moyes picks this lad because he can make all the difference against the Germans.
Manchester United fans – would you pick Shinji against Bayern?
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