In the past the purchase of an Asian player by a top Premier League club was viewed as a way to tap into valuable markets for fans and merchandising. Shinji Kagawa, however, was brought to Manchester United to win things. A skilled and creative attacking playmaker Kagawa had been a driving force behind Borussia Dortmund's 2012 double in one of the world's top leagues. Scoring and creating goals in his link up with centre forward Robert Lewandowski (13 goals and 8 assists and one of each in the Cup Final win over Bayern Munich) made Kagawa an in demand player and United snapped him up for £12 million. Arriving at Old Trafford at the same time as Robin van Persie, Kagawa was overshadowed by the new striker and United under both Alex Ferguson and David Moyes seemed to have little idea of how to use their Japanese star. With Wayne Rooney, and now Juan Mata, preferring to play in Kagawa's best position tucked in behind main striker Van Persie, Kagawa has instead found himself lost out on the wing. His first season with United saw flashes of his creative genius and 6 Premier League goals, but overall was a disappointment. Under Moyes he was more and more marginalised. For a goal scoring midfielder not finding the net once in the 2013/14 Premier League is a real failure. Kagawa seems to have little Old Trafford future and Dortmund, for one, would love to see him return there. For Japan, however, Kagawa continues to be given the freedom he needs to play his game and continues to make a difference playing that way. Alongside Japan's other star, AC Milan's central midfielder Keisuke Honda, Kagawa has even excelled as a wide forward by being given the freedom to cut inside and switch things up in a way that he isn't at Man United. If any Asian team is likely to progress in Brazil then Japan are by far the best equipped to do so, especially with an in form Kagawa. The Man United flop scored in both this month's final warm up games against Costa Rica and Zambia and his excellent performance in the latter turned around what could have been an embarrassing defeat into a 4-3 win. Any one of these Premier League failures could prove World Cup stars, but will that result in a boost to their Premier League form next season? No, probably not, but it could at least increase their transfer value for a fresh start.
