Fergie admits that United failed Kagawa
Sir Alex Ferguson has made a stunning admission that Manchester United failed to get the best out of Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa, according to Borussia Dortmund Juergen Klopp.
Kagawa was signed by the ex-United boss in 2012 from Borussia Dortmund but rejoined the Bundesliga side this summer after he failed to impress current Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal.
While Ferguson slowly bedded the former Cerezo Osaka man into his team in his maiden English Premier League season before retiring, the midfielder was used sparingly under the Scot's successor David Moyes.
Kagawa was marginalised even further following the arrival of Juan Mata from Chelsea.
Despite being labelled as an Old Trafford flop, the 25-year-old had an instant impact on his return to the Signal Iduna Park, scoring one goal and providing an assist for another during a 3-1 win over SC Freiburg.
Shame it didn't work
Kagawa's ability has not been lost on Ferguson, who regretted that United did not do more to accommodate the Japanese player's talent as he spoke to Klopp.
Speaking to The Sun, the German manager said: "I met Sir Alex in Nyon and he’s still in love with Shinji. He told me, ‘Shame we didn't manage this well so that it worked out for him. We were satisfied in the first year.
"And in the second year you usually make the next step but he didn't manage to do it. But Sir Alex was saying ‘Shame we should have made this work'."
Kagawa is now expected to cross swords with former United teammate Danny Welbeck when Dortmund take on Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday morning (Singapore time).
Source: The Sun via Mirror Online and Mail Online
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