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The former Manchester United forward is keen to find first-team football but reports of a move to France seem premature
Borussia Dortmund have denied reports Shinji Kagawa is set to join French side Bordeaux on loan.
Reports from France suggested that Dortmund had agreed a deal with the Ligue 1 club for the Japan international, though Kagawa had yet to be convinced about the move.
However, Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has distanced himself from those rumours.
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Speaking to Ruhr Nachtrichten, the 56-year-old said: “I know nothing about that.”
Despite that denial, Kagawa is still expected to leave Dortmund before the end of the January transfer window.
After last season was cut short by injury, Kagawa has struggled to regain his starting berth under Lucian Favre this time around, with Marco Reus being his preferred option in attacking midfield.
The emergence of youngsters such as Jadon Sancho and Christian Pulisic has also restricted Kagawa’s playing time, with the former Manchester United forward making just two starts and two further substitute appearances so far this campaign.
That has inevitably led to speculation regarding a possible January move for the 29-year-old.
Dortmund are keen to lower their wage bill and so will not stand in the way of any squad player looking to move, as demonstrated by Andre Schurrle’s loan move to Fulham last summer and Sebastian Rode’s departure to Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this month.
Speaking to Nikkan Sports in November, Kagawa revealed his desire to pursue first-team football and that a move to Spain’s La Liga would be his preferred option.
Kagawa said a move to Spain would be “the most important challenge in my career”, having already enjoyed spells in England and Germany.
In response to those comments, Zorc admitted he was sympathetic to Kagawa’s predicament and would consider allowing him to move on for the sake of his career.
Sevilla have been heavily linked with a move for the player, though no deal has yet to materialise.
Kagawa initially joined Dortmund from Cerezo Osaka in 2010 and has gone on to make more than 2000 appearances over two stints with the club, sandwiched between a two-year spell at Old Trafford.
He is contracted at the Westfalenstadion until the summer of 2020.