It hasn’t taken long for new boy Shinji Kagwa to make a good impression on his United team mates, with Rio Ferdinand especially impressed by the Japanese midfielder.
Kagawa completed his move from German champions Borussia Dortmund at the start of the month, and since then has garnered praise from Sir Alex and now Ferdinand.
A brief cameo against AmaZulu was proceeded by a exciting display against Ajax Cape Town and it appears the 23 year old has shown enough to get Ferdinand excited as the defender said in Shanghai:
“I’ve been very, very impressed. I’d seen him play for Dortmund on TV and I looked on YouTube.
“He’s been fantastic. He’s quick, he’s sharp, he has great awareness, he plays off both feet. I’m excited about playing with him and getting the season started.
“He’s been one of the better players in Germany for the last few years. I think he will bring that form to Manchester United. I think he’ll be a great acquisition.”
Sir Alex also spoke highly of Kagawa again, praising the speed at which he is adapting to life at his new club:
“The thing that’s quite impressed me is that every exercise we do on the training ground, he’s never needed it to be explained.
“After one demonstration, he joins in as if he’s known the language forever. Of course, we know he doesn’t speak the language, but it isn’t a problem.
“It just goes to show that a good footballer can pick up exactly what’s needed. He’s been fantastic in that respect. I’ve been quite surprised at that.”
………….Dea Gea…………
Rafeal…Smalling…Vidic…Evra
..Valencia…Carrick…Dembele..
………….Kagawa………….
…….Rooney…..Van Persie….
Kagawa will be vital to how we play. I think Ferguson will give him licence to dictate the play and be the creative force. Kagawa can be unpredictable but also has the intelligence and technique we have lacked for a while.
We’ve been linked with Lucas Moura and he is a terrific talent, but we made a very good offer already. I do feel £25.6 million bid was the top end and they still turned it down. The biggest offer a Brazilian club has ever received. I think we did well to make such an offer.
Ferguson should now turn his focus into getting Robin Van Persie and Moussa Dembele. I think we could get both deals done for around £30 million and that would be good business. The benefit is that both players have one year left on their contracts and they won’t sign a new one. It might leave us room to get another left back into the squad this summer to cover Patrice Evra.
Dembele was very impressive in central midfield last season and his statistics were up there with the best. He is a young and versatile player and would be a good addition to the squad. Dembele goalscoring record with Fulham isn’t strong, but he was prolific in Holland. I believe around stronger players he will be better.
Van Persie is a top class player and that is the kind we have not signed in a long time. I understand he is 29 but why should that bother us really. We know he has great ability, and even on a 4 year contract, he will only be 32 at the end of his deal. We can’t think of a resale value on every purchase. I feel we should every now and then sign a player that will only benefit us in the short-term. We don’t need to sign someone who has 8-10 years in front of him every time.
I remember when we signed Teddy Sheringham and he was 31. I can’t remember so much fuss about his age back in 1997. It was his qualities that people were interested in and he contributed greatly over his 4 year stay at Old Trafford. Van Persie does have an injury history, but with Rooney, Welbeck and Hernandez, we can take the chance if the transfer fee is correct.
I kind of agree about Van Persie. People are a bit hung up over his age and forget about his qualities. He is world class on his day and scores in big matches. I think we should be able to sign a player with just the next 4 years in mind.
We have Jones, Smalling, Evans, De Gea, Cleverley, Welbeck, Hernandez, Kagawa, Powell and Rafeal. These boys are for now but also for the next 10 years. It would be a boost for somone like Van Persie to join them. Alongside Rooney it would be an exciting strikeforce.