FERGUSON THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND KAGAWA U-TURN
Manchester
United’s PR machine moved quickly earlier this week to refute claims
that new-boy Shinji Kagawa had been signed only as a money-making
manoeuvre.
But the signing of the Japanese playmaker, which is
subject to obtaining a work permit, is understood to have been driven
purely by the club’s senior executives.
It is standard procedure
for big-money foreign transfers – Kagawa’s move could be worth up to
£17million – to be the result of extensive scouting and double-checking.
While
the capture of Kagawa cannot be compared to the 2010 signing of misfit
Bebe, who Sir Alex Ferguson watched only on video before sanctioning a
£7.2m move, it is believed to have raised eyebrows in some sections of
Old Trafford.
The Sweeper has been told that initial scouting
reports on the 23-year-old 12 months ago were “lukewarm”, with
particular doubt cast on whether he had the physique to be a force in
the Premier League.
There was little urgency to pushing through a
deal until Ferguson personally watched him deliver a match-winning
display for Borussia Dortmund in their emphatic 5-2 win over Bayern
Munich in the DFB-Pokal final last month.
While it is standard
procedure for Ferguson to have the last say on signings, the scouting
dossiers would make purely interesting reading should Kagawa not cut it
at Old Trafford.
- Wayne Veysey | Chief correspondent
LEAVIN' FOR LAS VEGAS
A
prolific former Premier League striker will be heading for the party
capital of Las Vegas next week for what promises to be a lively stag do.
The ex-forward, now in his fifth decade and well known in football circles, will be tying the knot a few weeks later. 
