Spanish champions Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Manchester United duo Shinji Kagawa and Javier Hernandez for a combined fee of £25m, according to the Guardian. Both Kagawa and Hernandez were on the fringes of the first team last season, with just 18 and 24 appearances in the league respectively, most of which came from the bench.
New manager Louis van Gaal has reportedly been monitoring the progress of several players throughout Manchester United’s tour of the USA, which ended with a 3-1 victory over Liverpool in the International Champions Cup final last night, a game in which both Kagawa and Hernandez featured, in order to decide which squad members would be deemed surplus to requirements as he looks to trim down and rebuild his squad. Speaking before the Liverpool game, van Gaal said, “I shall make judgments after this tour. I let all the players play and I know now more than before the tour. Now also it is a little bit soon to judge but in football you have to judge. You have to give a chance to the player to make a transfer when I see that his prospects to play are not so high. You have to say it in advance because it’s too late after 31 August. I will tell players after the tour but to them not to you [reporters].”
Having already previously spoken about the imbalance of United’s squad, with a particular mention to the excessive amount of #10s, the position in which Kagawa plays, van Gaal might struggle to fit the Japanese playmaker into his plans. Juan Mata is likely to be the first choice in that position ‘in the hole’, which acts as a crucial link between midfield and attack in van Gaal’s 3-4-1-2 system, with Adnan Januzaj lurking in the background too, and Kagawa might be tempted to search elsewhere for first team football. He has constantly struggled to settle during his time at Old Trafford, failing to nail down a place in the starting XI, and it might just be time for United to cut their losses and sell the ex-Borussia Dortmund man on.
Javier Hernandez has had similar struggles in recent times at Old Trafford, with first team starts coming at a premium. After his explosive first season in England, where he netted 20 times in all competitions, the goals have somewhat dried up of late for the Mexican, only finding the net four times in the league last season, and rumours of his departure have been steadily growing. His impact of the bench, arguably his biggest asset, has diminished substantially, whilst he consistently struggles to score when he is played from the start. It has to be said that the system that Hernandez has had to play in hasn’t always suited him, and van Gaal’s new formation with three central attacking players may benefit his style of play, but time may already be up for the forward with Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck all ahead of him in the pecking order.
Louis van Gaal is currently undergoing a huge re-evaluation of his squad, with plenty of departures reportedly imminent, such as that of Marouane Fellaini to Napoli, and it is believed that Kagawa and Hernandez also fall short of the standards required from the Dutchman.
Atletico have already signed Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann this summer as they too look to rebuild their squad, after selling Diego Costa, David Villa and Filipe Luis, and manager Diego Simeone is reported very keen in adding the Manchester United pair to his pool of players. The fee of £25m may be a potential stumbling block, however, where one would expect United to demand a lot more for the two players, especially in this current inflated market. United will also possibly be interested in some Atletico players, with Miranda and Koke the most obvious targets, and swap deals may inevitably come into the equation if Atletico’s interest does develop into a serious pursuit.
