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HONG KONG - Japan international Shinji Kagawa looks set to be ahigh-profile mover in the European transfer market this summer, butAsia's other big names have endured a tough season on thecontinent. The Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder revealed on Wednesdaythat he had met Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, with thedeposed Premier League champions believed to head a queue ofEnglish clubs chasing Kagawa's signature. Kagawa, who scored 17 goals to help Dortmund to a league and cupdouble, has made no secret of wish to move and the German club lookset to cash in on the 23-year-old, who cost only 350,000 euros(S$576,000) in 2010. "I want to think hard before making my decision," said Kagawa, whohas been valued at around 13 million euros, a modest price becausehe has only a year to run on his current deal. But while Kagawa could be on his way to Manchester United, SouthKorea's Park Ji-Sung may be headed for the Old Trafford exit aftera disappointing season prompted speculation over his future. Park, 31, made only 10 Premier League starts all campaignculminating in last month's pivotal Manchester derby, in which hewas substituted before the hour-mark. Rivals City won 1-0 and thensealed the title last weekend. This week Park, who has a year left on his contract, said he wantedto retire at Manchester United - but he admitted that his ambitionmay not "translate to reality". "It is true I want to retire at Manchester United," Park toldreporters in South Korea, according to the Korea Times. "But what I want does not always translate to reality. It becomesmore feasible when the whole situation clicks." However, Park is at least faring better than his compatriot andArsenal striker Park Chu-Young, whose season hit a new low onThursday when he was dropped by the South Korean national side. Despite hardly featuring for Arsenal since last year's move from ASMonaco, Park was expected to lead South Korea's assault in finalqualifying for the 2014 World Cup and remains one of their mostpotent weapons. But South Korea ditched him over an ongoing row about his move todelay compulsory military service by obtaining a 10-year residencyvisa for Monaco. "A national team must take into account not only an individualplayer's capability but the atmosphere of the whole team," saidcoach Choi Kang-Hee, suggesting disapproval for Park in thedressing room. Striker Ji Dong-Won, 20, is in the squad for two World Cupqualifiers next month, but he also endured a wretched time in thePremier League, scoring two goals all season for Sunderland andspending most his time on the bench. And there was misery for Bolton Wanderers' Lee Chung-Yong, whomissed almost the whole season after breaking his leg inpre-season. Bolton, who were relegated on a thrilling final day of the PremierLeague season, snapped up on loan Arsenal's young Japanese wingerRyo Miyaichi in the winter transfer window, and he enjoyed a brightstart before falling away. Meanwhile CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda, the flamboyant25-year-old Japanese who has been mooted for a move to England, isonly just returning to action after nine months disrupted by a kneeinjury. Japanese players had happier times elsewhere in Europe, with Germanclubs in particular eyeing up the country for bargain buys thissummer. Midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake has sealed a move to Nuremberg, hisclub Cerezo Osaka said on Thursday, while Kashiwa Reysol andHanover have reached an agreement over under-23 internationaldefender Hiroki Sakai. They will join a host of Japanese in Germany, including Wolfsburg'sdynamic midfielder Makoto Hasebe, the Japanese skipper, and strikerShinji Okazaki of Stuttgart. Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, 29, who plies his trade forLierse SK in Belgium, has set his heart on a move to Italy and hasbeen linked with AC Milan. "I want to play in Serie A. I practised with Parma for one monthwhen I was 18 and I visited Italy many times. I played in Belgiumto get used to the European style of football, but the level isvery low there," said Kawashima. If he does join AC Milan, he will face compatriot Yuto Nagatomo,the Inter Milan full-back who has surpassed expectations sincemoving to Italy. Only one Chinese is a top-flight regular in European football,Zhang Chengdong, who plays in Portugal's Primeira Liga forBeira-Mar. Most the traffic is now going the other way, with Nicolas Anelkalured to the newly rich Chinese Super League (CSL) by ShanghaiShenhua, and Guangzhou Evergrande snapping up World Cup-winningcoach Marcello Lippi this week. "I think one of the reasons there aren't more Chinese in Europe isbecause the CSL is uncomfortable with being a 'feeder' league anddoes everything it can to hold onto its talent, including moreoften than not charging extremely high transfer fees," said BrandonChemers, of WildeastFootball.net. "The other problem is China's national team and clubs have failedto get themselves onto the larger stage. "China's constant failure to qualify for the World Cup and itsgetting eliminated in the group stage of the previous two AsianCups has meant that scouts don't get much of an opportunity to seethem.". We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Roll Forming Equipment Manufacturer , Roll Bending Machine Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Roof Roll Forming Machine.
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