Hinata Miyazawa story so far at Man Utd long-read feature | January 2026

Hinata went on to start at the base of United’s midfield for a 4-0 win over Liverpool in December 2024 and would relinquish that position in just two of that league campaign’s remaining 13 games, as her all-round quality came to the fore in the new role.

The aforementioned triumph over Brighton saw a standout performance, as did the team’s first-ever away victory at Manchester City one week earlier, with her eye for a pass, developing tenacity in duels and intelligence to control a match all features that would see her become an important and popular member of the side that celebrated European qualification come May.

“To adopt that change of position is common, but the scale in which she’s progressed in the role isn’t common,” says Sanders. “The way she’s improved at such a speed, the way she’s taken on those new positions and adapted so quickly, I think is what’s been so impressive. Credit has to be given to Marc Skinner as well, with the way he’s been patient, allowed her to adapt to the position and given her that freedom to find her space within the team. When you’ve got a player like Miyazawa, who is so intelligent, you know eventually it’s going to click and that’s exactly what’s happened.”

A successful partnership with Dominique Janssen was also key to Miyazawa’s emergence in the midfield engine room. This season, Janssen has shifted into a more familiar centre-back role, but Hini’s progress has continued primarily next to another seasoned performer, in Julia Zigiotti, our summer signing from Bayern Munich.

“I really enjoy playing with Hini, she’s a brilliant player and very easy to play with,” Zigiotti said in a press conference earlier this term, sharing an insight into her midfield colleague. “We don’t have to talk that much on the pitch, we just look at each other and know what the other one is thinking. It’s been a real pleasure playing with her.”

Hini concurred when we spoke to her recently – her answer about Julia, strikingly similar to the one given by her team-mate, showing that the pair are not only in sync on the pitch.

“Playing with Julia is a lot of fun,” Miyazawa states, smiling as she talks about her colleague in Japanese. “Although I can’t speak English very well, I understand what Julia wants to do only with eye contact. We can play only by seeing each other’s position. It is very easy and fun to play with her. I have been building a good relationship with her, playing games with her. For the team, in terms of controlling games, I think we are playing our roles very well.”

November’s Manchester derby was the first time United lost when both had started this season, their 13th game together. They are two players getting the best out of each other and their chemistry is an emerging feature of Skinner’s current side.

“Zigi does the dirty work and Hini does the kind of breaking up [of the game], she gets called a pendulum because she just keeps the rhythm,” the boss explicates, describing two of the players he has available to select from his multiskilled midfield group. “Hini can link the backline, but she can also link play behind that and read the game. Because she reads the game, she controls transitions so much better. They’ve made a really great partnership in there.”