It’s still quite a long way from January and the re-opening of the transfer window, but there’s no harm in making plans for the near and more distant future. Manchester United aren’t the only club that’s going after Marco Reus, who has a tempting release clause to trigger, but having Shinji Kagawa available for a swap might give them an edge over other clubs.
The Dortmund boss, Hans-Joachim Watzke, revealed that Reus, like Mario Gotze before him, has a release clause in his contract, which means that he might not stay the full length of his deal, keeping him until 2017. How much is it? Rumors suggest it’s around €35 million, just under what Gotze was worth when Bayern Munich signed him.
Shinji Kagawa did start for Manchester United against Arsenal and it seems David Moyes is trying to fit him in more and more over the last few matches, but it’s not hard to see that there are other players, especially Adnan Januzaj, he prefers on his left wing, which Kagawa doesn’t fit in anyway. It’s still soon to declare that there’s no chance for Kagawa to succeed under Moyes, but if the opportunity to let him go comes for the right price, or the right player, Manchester United wouldn’t think too much about it.
Kagawa had two excellent seasons for Dortmund before being signed by Manchester United. But that was another manager, playing in a different formation. Dortmund brought in Marco Reus to take over for Kagawa, and haven’t exactly been disappointed. But as it seems money from selling players isn’t something the club set preference to, letting go of Reus for cash and a player seems like a much better option.
Arsenal, Barcelona and PSG are also interested in Reus, who might be the best player in the Bundesliga and his national team, despite the fierce competition at his position. Manchester United might be the only club with a player Dortmund would love to have back, and so a deal might be struck before anyone is ready to spend a reasonable price for him.