United Want Shinji Kagawa to Be More Versatile, and He Delivered Against La Real

Shinji Kagawa’s lack of playing time at Manchester United has led to reports that he may be headed back to Borussia Dortmund, but on Tuesday against Real Sociedad, the Japan international put in the kind of performance that will no doubt help in persuading the Red Devils to keep him.

Starting on the left of United’s three-pronged supporting trio in behind Javier Hernandez, Kagawa both demonstrated a useful understanding with Patrice Evra and caused no shortage of problems for his opponents when he either cut inside or played through a teammate with a clever one-touch pass.

Then, following the removal of Wayne Rooney midway through the second half, his dynamism in a more central role unlocked the Sociedad defense on numerous occasions and would surely have led to at least one goal had United’s finishing not gone missing.

In the 69th minute, for example, his back-heeled pass to Ashley Young led directly to a penalty, and while Robin Van Persie blasted his effort off the upright it was, in a nutshell, United’s showing on the night.

Brilliance from Kagawa; wastefulness from his teammates.

The 24-year-old was quite obviously keen to make an impression at the Anoeta, while the likes of Rooney, Hernandez and Van Persie struggled, and in doing so, he will have no doubt planted a seed in the mind of manager David Moyes ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match at home to Arsenal.

Moyes, who, like Sir Alex Ferguson, has preferred to deploy Rooney in the middle behind the centre-forward, will have been impressed by what he saw from Kagawa in Basque country. The former Dortmund man finally showed signs of the versatility not only favoured by Moyes, but also a necessary characteristic in attack-minded players in football generally.

Rare is the modern playmaker who is not a hybrid and, in delivering so impressively from the left of the attack, it seems Kagawa has bought into the notion.

That he would prefer to be starting matches in Rooney’s central position is hardly a secret, and over the course of the season he will likely be handed the occasional chance to do just that. But it can’t be his only role; he simply must offer United more than a single dimension.

On Tuesday he made a considerable stride in that direction and, going forward, his team will be better for it.

So, too, will Kagawa. Versatility will ensure he is a difference-maker rather than a luxury player at Old Trafford.