Kagawa 'hugely relieved' to escape Old Trafford

Kagawa was brought to Old Trafford by Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2012 for a deal worth up to £17 million but struggled to recreate the form that had made him such a star at the Signal Iduna Park.

His cause was not helped by the reluctance of Ferguson and his successor David Moyes to deploy the Japanese in his favoured position just behind the striker.

The appointment of Louis van Gaal as Manchester United manager appeared to offer hope of rehabilitation for Kagawa but he was told he could leave the club following their pre-season tour of the United States.

Back at Dortmund in a cut-price £6.3m deal, it is hoped Kagawa will regain his form and Kehl believes a change of scenery will help.

“You could see that it was a huge relief for Shinji Kagawa [to have left Manchester United for Dortmund],” Kehl was quoted as saying by Sport Bild.

“It was not an easy situation for him at Manchester in the past few weeks. And then there were some comments from his coach that prompted him to return to Dortmund.

“He gets a lot of faith here. Everything that he's been missing in the past few months, he'll get back here again.”