Shinji Kagawa's Inclusion vs. Real Sociedad Is Turning Point with David Moyes

The public outcry for the inclusion of Shinji Kagawa in Manchester United's squad has been magnificent in the last two months since the English Premier League season began. 

Kagawa has been left on the bench or out of the Red Devils' squad on numerous occasions by manager David Moyes, and it has left the player, his former manager at Borussia Dortmund, Jurgen Klopp, and fans feeling frustrated about the situation.

On Wednesday at home against Real Sociedad, Kagawa was handed his first European start, but he was left out of position on the left wing. 

In the 80th minute of his club's match against the Spanish newcomers to the UEFA Champions League, Kagawa was shifted into his preferred No. 10 position as Javier Hernandez left the pitch and Ashley Young came on to replace the Mexican forward.

With Young coming onto the pitch, Wayne Rooney was moved up front in the 4-2-3-1 formation while Kagawa took up shop in the role he thrived in for Dortmund during his time in Germany. 

During the match, Kagawa spent the same amount of time in the middle of the pitch and on the left wing, according to this Squawka infographic:

In his post-match news conference, Moyes claimed that Kagawa played the "best game in my time," which should suggest that the Japanese international midfielder would get more time on the pitch in upcoming weeks:

The Red Devils are in need of a spark to their lineup as they currently sit in eighth place in the EPL, and Kagawa could provide just that to the club, who are already eight points adrift of league leaders, Arsenal. 

If inserting Kagawa into the lineup on a permanent basis is what Moyes intends to do, now is the perfect time to let the 24-year-old get used to playing with Rooney, Young, Nani and others in the United attack. 

In their next four matches, United take on Stoke and Fulham in league play, take on Norwich City in the Capital One Cup and play the return leg against Real Sociedad in their fourth UCL match. 

With no marquee opponents ahead on the fixture list and Moyes publicly endorsing the skills of his Japanese playmaker, now is the perfect time for the player and manager to make up before United falls too far away from title contention. 

Follow me on Twitter, @JTansey90.