Japan: Honda urges Manchester United to sign him in Twitter plea

Japanese football star Keisuke Honda on Saturday marketed himself to Manchester United in an unusual and apparently desperate Twitter plea, as he hunts for a new club.

"Give me an offer"

"Give me an offer," the former AC Milan striker tweeted from his verified account, tagging United's official Twitter account.
"I don't need money but I need to play with a great team and great teammate!," said the 33-year-old, one of the highest-profile names in Asian football. Honda is trying to find a new club in Europe after leaving Australia's Melbourne Victory in May.

He is aiming to continue playing international football after announcing his intention to compete at Tokyo 2020 Olympics as an overage player. Honda shot to fame at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when his goals helped Japan reach the last 16.

He has 37 goals in 98 appearances for his country and was the first Japanese player to score at three World Cups -- 2010, 2014 and 2018. Instantly recognizable with his spiky, bleached blond hair, he played for Italian giants AC Milan from 2014 to 2017, after earlier stints for VVV-Venlo in Holland and Russian side CSKA Moscow.

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Last year, Honda signed on as general manager of Cambodia's national team without a salary on a two-year contract.

A purple patch

Meanwhile, It is difficult to know what to expect from Solskjaer's United, who enjoyed a purple patch after the Norwegian replaced Jose Mourinho but slumped alarmingly towards the end of last season.

At one stage they looked likely to finish in the top four but there was the suspicion they were getting the rub of the green and so it proved.

Their campaign ended with a whimper as they drew 1-1 at relegated Huddersfield and then were beaten 2-0 at home on the final day by Cardiff, who were also heading out of the Premier League.

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A gap of 32 points to champions Manchester City was embarrassing and many questioned whether the club had been too hasty in appointing the relatively inexperienced Solskjaer to the full-time manager's post.

United will not have Champions League football to paper over the cracks during the coming season, with Thursday nights in the Europa League ringed in the calendar instead.

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The club has had a positive pre-season but there are still lingering issues that need to be addressed -- Paul Pogba's future is still in doubt and Solskjaer has to wrestle with the conundrum of an under-performing Alexis Sanchez.

United had problems at both ends of the pitch last season -- scoring 30 goals fewer than City in the Premier League and conceding 54 goals, the most they had conceded in a league season since 1978-79.

The 20-time champions desperately need a positive start to rebuild confidence that they can challenge at the sharp end of the Premier League.

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