Takumi Minamino's worrying Liverpool admission explains why he flopped at Anfield
Former Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino sparked plenty of excitement at Anfield when he joined the club in 2020, but he failed to live up to those expectations in a red shirt
The arrival of Jurgen Klopp back in 2015 proved to be the catalyst for one of the most successful chapters in Liverpool 's recent history - but even the German hasn't got every big call right.
The Reds have had far more hits than misses in the transfer market in recent years, particularly when it comes to big money deals. This summer's midfield rebuild is already looking promising with new recruits Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister making a strong early impression in the team that's been dubbed by many as Liverpool 2.0.
Liverpool's forward line also has a new look following the summer departure of Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane 12 months before that. But other lesser names have also moved on from Klopp's pool of forwards during the same period, including Takumi Minamino.
A fleet-footed Japan international, Minamino, 28, arrived on Merseyside to plenty of fanfare after excelling in the Austrian Bundesliga with RB Salzburg. But unfortunately, Minamino failed to replicate his dazzling displays in a Liverpool shirt.
With the benefit of hindsight, perhaps it's easy to see why when you take into account the forward made after his Liverpool debut in the Merseyside derby back in January 2020.
While he noted similarities between the Reds system and that of Salzburg, he admitted that he was taken aback by the intensity of the Premier League - even though it was something he was expecting.
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"I'm happy that now I'm a part of this team," Minamino said following his first experience of the Premier League. "It was probably one of the most intense matches I've played, but I knew the Premier League would be like that so I wasn't surprised.
"The way we press aggressively, the way we press back, the way we use the space between lines is similar to Salzburg. But the system is not the same so I have to understand the difference and fit myself into this team. I think this is the best stadium for a footballer. The fans were great and I'm just glad we won."
In fairness to Minamino, getting to grips with the Premier League was never going to be easy given his irregular game time. Tasked with disrupting Liverpool's imperious front three of Firmino, Mane and Mohamed Salah, Minamino was always up against it.
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Even Klopp acknowledged that the versatile forward probably deserved more opportunities to gatecrash that trio towards the end of his Anfield tenure. In total, Minamino would go on to make just 55 appearances for Liverpool, scoring 14 goals in all competitions.
Just two-and-a-half years after putting pen-to-paper at Anfield, Minamo left the club to join Monaco in the summer of 2022 in a bid to kickstart his career, while Liverpool turned to the likes of Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez to breath new life into their forward line.
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