Japan star happy to play on the left amid exit talk.
Manchester United’s Shinji Kagawa says he is prepared to play on the left wing in order to cement a place in boss David Moyes’s team.
The Japan star was a peripheral figure in the early weeks of the campaign and was linked with a move away from United, with former club Borussia Dortmund said to be keen to re-sign him.
But Kagaw has started seven of United’s last 10 games, typically on the left-hand side of the attack in a 4-2-3-1 formation adopted by Moyes.
While the 24-year-old’s preferred position is as a number 10 behind a lone striker – a role he has adopted in the absence of injured star Robin van Persie – in-form England star Wayne Rooney is likely to return to the ‘hole’ when the Dutchman is fit again.
Kagawa, however, has dismissed suggestions he is unhappy with playing on the left and says, on the contrary, that he wants to learn to play more positions.
“I played behind the main striker at (Borussia) Dortmund, but I usually play on the left with Japan,” Kagawa told the United match programme, United Review.
“I should be flexible enough to play in a number of roles, so I am a more attractive player to the team and can contribute even more.
“Every day I am learning how to trouble my opponents on the left, how best to cause them problems with my movement. But I would still like to be capable of taking up more positions.”
United face Newcastle United in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday, having fallen 12 points behind leaders Arsenal following their 1-0 loss at home to Everton on Wednesday.
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