Manchester United Transfer News: Red Devils Set to Lure £18M Japanese Playmaker

Premier League champions Manchester United are reportedly looking to lure Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow's Japanese playmaker Keisuke Honda. The player has impressed pundits since his signing for the Russian giants in 2009. It is believed that any deal should go through relatively easily.

The Japanese international has previously interested the English club, on more than one occasion. However, no deal has ever been struck due to various reasons. It is possible that criticisms over Honda's playmaking abilities may have hampered any move for the player, leaving United to consider other big names in the game.

The club was, until recently, linked with Italian Serie A side Inter Milan's Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder. Unfortunately, an outrageous price of £35 million was set by Inter, who didn't want to part with their most prized possession, forcing United to back out. However, recent injuries to players like Tom Cleverley and Darren Fletcher has forced Sir Alex Ferguson to rethink his approach for the CSKA star.

Honda himself, only recently, stated he was ready to take his game to the next level and that he wanted to play in the big leagues and especially in the UEFA Champions League. Although United has been prematurely eliminated from this year's competition, the club can definitely offer him the opportunity next year.

CSKA is believed to have valued the player at £18 million, according to a Footybunker.com report.

Keisuke Honda, who arrived from Dutch Eredivisie club VVV-Venlo in 2009 and won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, has made a total of 67 appearances for the Russian club and has also managed to score 13 times.