Manchester United are reportedly willing to offer Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa, in a player-plus-cash deal for Atletico Madrid midfielder Arda Turan.
The Red Devils were understood to be on the verge of securing Turan's signature last summer but former manager David Moyes decided to sign Marouane Fellaini instead, having worked with the player at Everton.
"The weird thing is, Arda was supposed to play for Manchester United," Turkish journalist Acun Ilicali said, according to the Express. "Manchester United agreed terms with Arda and he was on the verge of completing his transfer however, they chose Fellaini instead in a last minute deal."
And now, with Moyes sacked and Fellaini poised to be offloaded for a cut-price deal this summer, United have reignited their interest in the Turkish midfielder, following their unsuccessful attempts to sign Juventus star Arturo Vidal.
According to the Metro, United have been scouting the 27-year-old thoroughly as he played a big hand in Atletico's success last season.
And with Atletico boss Diego Simeone, who is rebuilding his La Liga-winning squad following the departures of several star players including Diego Costa and Filipe Luis, believed to be interested in landing United duo Kagawa and Javier Hernandez, the Red Devils are ready to use the Japanese midfielder as a bait in their attempts to land Turan in a £16 million deal, claims the Express.
And it looks like Kagawa, who got very limited chances under former bosses Sir Alex Ferguson and Moyes, is not going to get much first team football under van Gaal either as the Dutchman has made it clear that Juan Mata will be his first choice no.10 next season.
Also, the former Barcelona boss has confirmed that he will deploy a 3-5-2 formation at United next season, putting even more doubts on Kagawa's future.
"It's difficult to change the systems and I had to start this system [3-5-2 ] at once because we don't have time to change it. We only have three weeks before the season starts, so I have to use all my training sessions to implement this system," van Gaal told United's official website.
However, it is still uncertain whether United will include Hernandez in any deal for Turan as van Gaal refused to comment on whether the Mexican striker, who scored against Real Madrid in preseason, would also be axed.
