What Does the Future Hold for Shinji Kagawa at Borussia Dortmund?

When Shinji Kagawa returned from Manchester United on the last day of the 2014 summer transfer window, it felt like he was "back where he belongs playing for Borussia Dortmund and Jurgen Klopp," as Adam Bate wrote for Sky Sports.

The Japanese playmaker promptly scored in his first game back, a 3-1 home win over SC Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park. Everything seemed to line up perfectly for Kagawa to retake his position as not only one of the favourites of the Yellow Wall—Dortmund's imposing south stand hosting the most loyal of BVB supporters—but also as one of the Bundesliga's very best players. 

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Much like the season of his club, however, Kagawa's showings failed to live up to expectations almost completely—so much so that his standing at the club seemed in jeopardy before the season. The 26-year-old had only played up to his immense potential under Klopp, who left the club after a highly successful seven-year tenure. 

Kagawa's four months under Klopp's successor, Thomas Tuchel, have erased any concerns.

While he's not yet receiving the public recognition his strong play deserves, his standing at the club is on the same level it was during his first spell there between 2010 and 2012. He is undroppable, having started in 19 of the club's 22 matches across all competitions—including all 12 games in the Bundesliga—and is a key building block for both this season and future campaigns.

There And Back Again

In his two-season first stint at Dortmund, the Japan international took the league by storm. In what has to be among the biggest bargains in the history of modern football, the Black and Yellows got Kagawa for a compensation fee of €350,000 from Cerezo Osaka, according to Raphael Honigstein of the Guardian.

Angel Fernandez/Associated Press

Dortmund's No. 23 scored an impressive 29 goals in all competitions in those two years, despite a fractured metatarsal suffered on international duty with the Blue Samurai in the semi-final of the 2011 Asian Cup, keeping him out for almost the entire second half of his rookie campaign in Germany (he played three minutes on Matchday 34 against Eintracht Frankfurt).

It's not a stretch to say Kagawa was the Bundesliga's best player in his second year, which culminated in Dortmund's winning their first double. He scored nine league goals and assisted another seven in his side's record-breaking second half of the 2011/12 season, in which the Black and Yellows scored 47 of a possible 51 points.

Kagawa was so good for Dortmund that his departure seemed inevitable, as he had simply outgrown the club. Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils pounced, signing the playmaker for €16 million, according to local paper Ruhr Nachrichten (in German). Both player and mentor knew how special Kagawa's time at Dortmund was: "We cried for 20 minutes, in each others' arms, when he left," said Klopp, via the Guardian's Donald McRae.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

The Japanese, of course, would fail to make a big impact in the Premier League, despite his contributions to United's last title under Ferguson. Bleacher Report's Jake Nisse summed up his ill-fated stay at Old Trafford only days before his return to Dortmund in August of 2014:

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In his debut season at United (2012/13), he posted three assists and six goals on only 21 shots and looked to be a future star towards the end of the campaign. 

Often played as a true winger or wide attacking midfielder the following season, Kagawa took a step back, again posting three assists but contributing zero goals in 14 starts.

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Dortmund took the opportunity to get him back in the fold late in the summer window last year, paying a fee of €8 million, according to the Mirror's Alex Richards. 

Back with Klopp in Dortmund, the Japan international's return to form was "regarded as a fait accompli," as Bate put it.

In reality, however, Kagawa looked like a player completely devoid of confidence, as he failed to make much of an impact until late in the campaign. He didn't even remotely resemble the player with whom the Westfalenstadion faithful had instantly fallen in love in 2010. ESPN FC's John Duerden wrote: "Overall, Kagawa has not been playing badly, but the headline-grabbing performances from his first spell are just not there."

All this makes the Japanese's actual return to form this season all the more gratifying for those supporters who never lost their faith in the diminutive playmaker.

A New Role

Kagawa plays a very important part in Tuchel's system.

Dortmund's new head coach aligns his team in a flexible 4-1-4-1 in which his No. 23 "is oriented more towards the left-half space with [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan on the left. The two combine well in a brilliant partnership which has become key to the majority of attacks," according to Tom Payne of Spielverlagerung.com.

Especially at the start of Tuchel's tenure, Kagawa was a focal point for Dortmund's prototypical attacking move. They overloaded on the left side of the pitch and switched to the right, from where a simple pass, often a cutback from advanced right-back Matthias Ginter, was enough to cause a real threat on goal. Dortmund's 2-0 goal against Hertha Berlin on Matchday 3 was a prime example.

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Lovely team goal. Kagawa pass to Ginter  #bvbbsc #bvb pic.twitter.com/wmjGfGJJbA

— Scot Munroe (@ScotM87) August 30, 2015"

Unlike his first stint with the club, Kagawa is much more a provider than finisher. His 2.4 key passes per game lead the team, according to WhoScored.com. In 2010/11, he averaged 1.2; in 2011/12, 1.8. 

Simultaneously, his own shooting numbers have gone down considerably as well. This season, he shoots 1.3 times per Bundesliga game. In his first two years at Dortmund, he took an average of two shots per game. Scenes like his exquisite goal against SC Paderborn in the DFB-Pokal have become a little rarer this year.

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Take a look at this exquisite goal by Shinji Kagawa for Dortmund earlier #BVB pic.twitter.com/eDtiyVfZhB

— CrowdScores App (@CrowdScores) October 28, 2015"

Kagawa's scoring contribution reflects this evident change in his playing style, as he has accumulated three goals and six assists in 12 Bundesliga matches.

The Japan international, whom Klopp called "an offensive midfielder with one of the best noses for goal I ever saw," via McRae, has developed into a more well-rounded player in his short time under Tuchel. 

In recent weeks, he has frequently moved into a deep role. In the 3-2 win over local rivals Schalke 04 in the "Revierderby" on the Bundesliga's last matchday before the November international break, Kagawa "played with more focus on the development of possession in deeper spaces," according to Payne. His deeper positioning might well have contributed to his opening goal, as Schalke seemed to struggle to pick up an advancing Kagawa in the penalty box. 

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Shinji Kagawa !! pic.twitter.com/F2f731Mj3S

— World Football Power (@transfer_wfng) November 8, 2015"

The 26-year-old has displayed a surprising amount of comfort playing deeper than before, putting in good defensive work despite his slight frame. He averages 1.9 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, both easily career highs, according to WhoScored. His showing in the Revierderby was probably his best all-around performance in a long time.

Going forward, Kagawa will remain an important chess piece for Tuchel. Having already tried and ultimately failed to make the step to one of the biggest clubs in the world, chances are that Kagawa has realised that he is, indeed, where he belongs.

At Dortmund, the fan favourite can become even more than that—an icon.

Lars Pollmann is a featured columnist writing on Borussia Dortmund. He also writes for Yellowwallpod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.