When Manchester United missed out on Eden Hazard, several supporters were left groaning in frustration. A few days later, United announced the signing of Shinji Kagawa and the fans' reaction was, to put it at best, underwhelming.
Ever since the advent of the Premier League, United have been the big spenders. Even after Chelsea and Roman Abramovich came into the picture, the Red Devils were able to keep up with them in the transfer market, to a certain extent.
However, after the Glazer family's takeover, United's spending has come down quite a bit. The current management believe in buying young and being prudent, in what is an already inflated transfer market, thanks to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris St Germain.
The Premier League has two of the best at buying young players and at a nominal cost in Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. While Wenger has been doing it since joining his club Arsenal in 1996, Ferguson has had to tighten his purse-strings over the last few years.
No wonder then, two of the shrewdest managers in the world had their eye on Kagawa. Arsenal were also interested in signing the Japanese international , but the Dortmund midfielder chose to go to Ferguson's side.
United invested in youngsters last year with the signings of David De Gea, Phil Jones and the aptly-named Ashley Young. Hazard would have been another of the young brigade that could have thrived in the theater of dreams that is Old Trafford. However, Chelsea paid much more money and Hazard chose to sign for the European champions.
It might have been a blessing in disguise, because Kagawa has the potential to be the most explosive, yet aesthetically pleasing, midfielder in the Premier League. The Japanese international is coming off a ridiculously successful season with Borussia Dortmund, playing a leading role in the club winning the league and Cup double.
The 23-year-old, who had 17 goals and 13 assists last season, can be the perfect supply line for Wayne Rooney. The Japanese midfielder likes to play just behind the striker and is adept at picking the right passes at the right time. He is also capable of drifting from the left and striking from distance.
Yes, Hazard is also capable of doing both, but hasn't proven it on a consistent basis in a competitive league. The German league is much bigger than the French league and Kagawa has starred for his national side on several occasions as well, something Hazard still has to do.
Mats Hummels, Kagawa's soon-to-be former team-mate, had this to say about the midfielder's skills: "He's simply a great footballer. His movement is insane. I wouldn't like to play against him."
Kagawa ran rings around Champions League finalists Bayern Munich in the Cup final, scoring two and being involved in the others as Dortmund ran out 5-2 winners. The playmaker is also a tremendously popular figure in his native country, ensuring United will quickly make up his transfer fees on shirt sales alone.
However, thinking Kagawa has been bought just to increase the Manchester club's presence in the lucrative Asian market, would be doing the Japanese a terrible injustice. The diminutive playmaker could be the key to United winning the Premier League next season.
Kagawa is a proven soccer player and has the potential to become one of the best in the Premier League.
