• United an option, says Japan playmaker's agent
• David Gill refuses to comment on United targets
Shinji Kagawa, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder, heads the potential recruits on Manchester United's radar as the champions seek to strengthen during the summer ahead of their attempt to win back the title from Manchester City.
While Thomas Kroth, the Japan playmaker's agent, confirmed that United are "an option" for the 23-year-old, the chief executive, David Gill, was asked directly about Sir Alex Ferguson signing the Japanese. "We're not going to comment on individual players, it would be inappropriate," he said. "We try and do it privately and see what happens. As I say this process where we're looking at players happens throughout the year, it didn't start yesterday and we've been doing a lot of assessment."
Ferguson and his assistant watched Kagawa on Saturday as he scored in Dortmund's 5-2 win over Bayern Munich in the German cup final. He has a year remaining on his contract and has refused an extension. "I had a meeting with his agent yesterday morning [Monday] and Shinji Kagawa has informed us that he will definitely not be extending his contract," said the Dortmund director of sport, Michael Zorc.
Kagawa scored 13 goals in 31 league games as Dortmund won the Bundesliga from Bayern by eight points. He would fit the profile currently adhered to by United of a young player who would improve and not cost a premium price – with him costing between £15m to £20m.
Regarding United's general transfer policy this summer as they seek to strengthen ahead of their attempt to win back the title from Manchester City, Gill said: "We don't want to do that [put a figure on the number of players]. There are certain positions we're looking at and certain areas, we're not going to buy players just for the sake of buying players. Clearly we have a great squad of players. We will only bring in players who add to and improve that. We've got some youngsters in there, we have a good mix of youth and experience, so additions have got to improve that.
"The manager, Jim Lawlor [chief scout] and the scouting team, everyone is looking at it and discuss it throughout the period. Obviously, the work intensifies now in terms of actually doing deals and we've identified players so let's see what happens. It's a 365-day-a-year job that talent is always on our radar but the paperwork is done in the close season and transfer window – we can sort out the deals beforehand and get them moving." Read More
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