During his tenure at Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp has been at the helm of some of the club’s most exciting signings in history. Players such as Alisson and Virgil van Dijk were both brought to the club by the German and have since excelled.
This is shown by both the Premier League and Champions League title the side won whilst under the guidance of the 56-year-old. Klopp managed to turn a team with a fan base who didn’t believe into world champions, a feat which many have tried and failed to do.
However, although the vast majority of Klopp’s additions to his squad have benefited the side massively, there are some which seem to have left a sour taste in the mouths of some fans.
An example of one of these signings is that of Takumi Minamino. During his stint with the Reds, Minamino was often loved and hated by fans due to the inconsistency he showed.
After arriving at the club on the 1st January 2020 for a fee worth £7.25m, he didn’t manage to contribute to a single goal or assist for the Reds for the remainder of the season.
That said, during Liverpool’s run to both the 2021/22 Carabao and FA Cup finals, he was one of Klopp’s best players, managing to score an impressive seven goals in just nine games. It was for that form that journalist Josh Bunting claimed he was “undervalued” by the manager.
If the Japan international managed to consistently put out numbers like this in the league, he could have very easily benched either Sadio Mane or Roberto Firmino during their ‘hay-days’ for the Reds.
However, during that same season, the winger only played a total of 176 minutes in the Premier League and only managed to score three goals in the process.
It was this lack of consistency which resulted in Klopp choosing to sell the Japan international to Ligue 1 side, Monaco, in the summer of 2022 for a fee worth £15m.
Whilst with Monaco, the Minamino which tore Liverpool apart with a stellar performance (footage below) in the 2019/20 Champions League came out.
As aforementioned, Minamino now plys his trade for Monaco. The winger is 29-years-old and has an almost guaranteed starting spot within the French club’s set-up.
However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing since he arrived. Last season was his first in Ligue 1 and his inconsistency once again showed through.
The 29-year-old has played a total of 25 times in all competitions and only managed to contribute to five goals. He has, however, been deployed across the front three and, on occasion, in attacking midfield throughout the season.
Following his poor first campaign at the club, Monaco’s then sporting director, Paul Mitchell, spoke about the attackers’ form: “Takumi Minamino is [the signing] that has had the most difficulty integrating for the time being,” he said.
“We have to be patient. I hope that his goal against Reims will lead to many more. It’s paradoxical because he’s the oldest player on the list (of arrivals).”
It now, however, seems as if their patience has paid off, as, Minamino has seemingly turned over a new leaf and is now outperforming one of Liverpool’s star-signings, Dominik Szoboszlai.
The pair have an equal number of goals and assists with both contributing to five goals and four assists each. However, Minamino has managed to achieve this output in 11 fewer games than Szoboszlai has, which showcases how settled he is now.
This upheaval in form likely has a lot to do with Monaco’s manager, Adi Hutter, as he knew Minamino from his RB Salzburg days.
This gave the Austrian an idea of where best to capitalise on the Japan international’s strengths and how best to use them in a tactical system.
