Shinji Kagawa Will Be a Crucial Player for United This Season

Last summer Bleacher Report, and several other sporting news outlets (the Daily Mail, for one), were inundated with all sorts of stories about the potential arrival of Japan and Borussia Dortmund midfielder, Shinji Kagawa.

Eventually the then 23-year-old would end up putting pen to paper and moving to Old Trafford for roughly £17 million after transactions fees and other payments were made.

Since then Kagawa's career has been dogged by injury, making his first year with United mediocre at best. 

It was always going to be tough adapting to the much more physical style of play that the Premier League has to offer, but with an injury added on top of this necessary adaption of playing style Shinji was thrown into a real gauntlet.

However, as the season concluded, and returning to full health, Kagawa was able for the final quarter of the year to show what he was truly made of.

World-class performances at a critical time in the campaign helped to ensure United would go on to lift their thirteenth Premier League crown—the Japanese man's first.

If that wasn't positive enough news for United fans, then their midfielder's recent performance against the Italian national team in the Confederations Cup serves as an added bonus.

Kagawa's ball control and eye for a pass seemed second to none in that match—even surpassing Andrea Pirlo's best efforts over the 90 minutes. 

Japan would unfortunately go on to lose an amazing game of football 4-3, but not after Shinji had scored a fantastic left-footed volley which at the time put the Japanese 2-0 ahead.

All of these performances are an incredibly encouraging sign for David Moyes, who will be grateful to Sir Alex for spending his last season at the club breaking in this Asian talent.

With the news that Barcelona's Thiago may well soon be arriving at Old Trafford, it makes one positively drool with excitement at the notion of the likes of Kagawa, Thiago and Robin van Persie in the same starting XI. 

That's not to mention Wayne Rooney, whose future is still in the balance. If "Wazza" does end up staying in Manchester, then that league-beating offensive lineup may have just transformed into a world-beating one.

I can definitely see the potential for an attacking partnership between Thiago and Kagawa in the middle of the pitch.

With Michael Carrick playing his usual role as bolster in the center of the United midfield, Kagawa and Thiago would be given free reign to move forward with the ball, and would no doubt serve as an outlet for one another when the player on the ball is under pressure.

This three-pronged midfield is already a significant step up from anything that United fans have really experienced in the past decade or so—at least in regards to the central midfield anyway.

Even if Thiago doesn't arrive, this role can be filled by Tom Cleverley, who has shown in the past that he can play football to an elite standard when on top form. 

Whatever happens, Kagawa can and will be a pivotal player in the revival of the United central midfield. 

This has been an area of weakness for the Red Devils for a while now, and now that Shinji has acclimatized himself to the English way of playing, he has the chance to change that.

Don't be surprised to see the man from Japan getting in the goals a lot more often this year, and possibly even challenging for Premier League top-assister over the course of the season.

Follow me on Twitter: @Eddie_Edmonds