Shinji Kagawa: Number seven eight nine?

A new star is rising at United. A Japanese star. Few recent signings have had as much expectation placed on their shoulders as the Red Devils’ latest signing (almost) from Borussia Dortmund. From playing in the relatively unknown grounds of Cerezo Osaka a couple of seasons ago, the midfielder’s rise has been mercurial, and he has played an integral role in his (almost) former squad’s double winning season.

With a move to Old Trafford imminent, the hope is that he will not fade into obscurity as has former team-mate Nuri Sahin at Real Madrid. Seeing the current state of affairs in the midfield department of Old Trafford, it doesn’t seem very likely either. The early promise shown by the dazzling dribbling skills of Anderson has been all but forgotten with constant injuries plaguing the Brazilian. The rising hopes placed on Tom Cleverley, which even had the Gaffer settle on delaying his pursuit of Sneijder, were dealt a major blow, (no) thanks to the tough tackling from Kevin Davies of Bolton. Darren Fletcher has been ruled out for an unknown duration with a mystery bug. Michael Carrick has shone through in patches, but has been completely overrun against teams of the likes of Manchester City. Paul Scholes has been the best player in the centre of the park since his comeback in January, but will know that his body might not withstand the rigours of regular play for another complete season. Future hopes Paul Pogba, Cory Evans and Ravel Morrison have exited the Theatre of Dreams.

So with a regular place in the first squad of United almost assured, let us have a look at where exactly Shinji fits in at United. Let us do so with the traditional squad numbers in mind. The most likely number that Shinji is to receive is the famed no. 7 of United. This has more to do with the fact that it lies vacant and has been used in varied manners of late. From the irresistible crosses of Beckham and the unmatchable pace of Ronaldo to the intelligent poaching of Michael Owen, we’ve seen it all. But is Shinji truly a number seven?

A seven, traditionally, is a right winger. A winger, as we all know, is expected to hug the line, go past opposing full-backs, and occasionally cut in  to try and score. Kagawa, on the other hand, is a playmaker. While his pace is not inconsiderable, he has made it amply clear that he would prefer playing in the centre of the pitch, and with the quality of his passing and through balls, it would be a travesty to deny him that opportunity.

 This brings us to the question of number eight.

An eight, traditionally, is the right attacking mid-fielder. This suits Shinji perfectly, since it is the position that he typically plays in for country and club. Number 8 is also associated with creative freedom, something which the Old Trafford faithful expect Shinji to exploit. It has been worn in the past by Rooney, but currently rests with Anderson. Would one advocate the shuffling of squad numbers? Perhaps not.

Thus, we move on to number nine, albeit with longing looks at the oh-so-perfect number eight.

A number nine is associated, traditionally, with the centre forward. This position, in itself, has evolved to such an extent over the years that it is now difficult to pinpoint the role of a number 9. Yet, let us consider the ‘false 9′ for the purpose of our discussion. A false 9 plays in the hole i.e. the gap between midfield and the forward line but is expected to also move ahead and meet the ball when crosses fly in, or are fed through. While there are no questions over Shinji’s finishing abilities, it would be an inefficient use of his long-range shooting abilities to ask him to play that role. With current number nine Dimitar Berbatov heading for the exit, his place has been laid claim to by Danny Welbeck, who has the ability to play the false 9 role to perfection. Yet again, we fail to find a number for Shinji.

The number ten is nothing but the number right but on the left side of central midfield. Again, this is a number that would fit Shinji’s role perfectly but is taken up by a certain Englishman who would be very reluctant to give it up. So we move on to Shinji’s Dortmund number; number 23. Again taken by yet another Englishman. How about number 17? If Nani stakes claim for the number 7 shirt, number 17 would be left vacant. Perhaps Shinji could take that up.

But, will Nani stay? Will Kagawa get his work permit? Will he be another Bebe? Will he be another Ronaldo? Aah… who says it’s easy to be a football fan! Jersey number 99, anyone?