Shinji Kagawa: Japanese Star Wants Premier League After Meeting with Ferguson

Japanese star Shinji Kagawa has made it known that he wants to move to the Premier League following his meeting with Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson

Kagawa, who is just 23 years old, has just one year remaining on his contract with two-time Bundesliga champion Borussia Dortmund and has declined the club's contract extension offer.

He was brilliant for his club during the 2011-2012 season, scoring 13 goals and racking up eight assists in 33 games. He scored a goal three minutes into the team's DFB-Pokal final against Bayern Munich on May 12th.

Every single club would love to have the services of the incredibly versatile midfielder. He typically plays behind the striker and has the ability to pull forward with the striker or drop back to help the defensive midfielders, while also capable of moving to the wing when needed.

He's a great passer with even better vision, and meticulously threads the needle to his open teammates. He also can unleash a furious shot when the time is right.

The one knock on Kagawa is his lack of physical play. His small stature makes it tough for him to challenge for the ball, letting defenders get too close to him. This seriously diminishes his effectiveness as he isn't able to utilize his speed as well in close quarters.

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"I want to go a team where it'll be challenging for me,'' Kagawa said. "It'd be nice if I end up playing in the Premier League.''

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Kagawa made that statement after his meeting with Ferguson, then went on to say that he had "been in touch with a number of clubs" but is not sure where he will end up yet.

Other clubs that are interested in Kagawa include Liverpool, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus.

It seems as though Manchester United has a great chance to pick up yet another talented player from another area of Europe to add to the club's young talent in lower levels. 

If Kagawa does sign with Manchester United, he would be the first Japanese-born player to ever don the uniform.