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I don't know the last time a fairly good player came into the English Premier League for a fee of £7.5 million but so is the story of Takumi Minamino, a diminutive Japanese winger from Salzburg. For a player who is 24 I'm thinking he's got about 10 more years to play football at a top level and in a year or two he could really develop and mature nicely and before he's 26 he's already playing the type of football which Liverpool are playing. In earnest this guys is an attack minded addition to the Liverpool teams and his signing is more of depth rather than need but if you look deep in the transfer market there are hardly quality players not to talk of one that'll go for £7.5 million. Liverpool have really done some smart business from 2016 and Jurgen Klopp has been instrument to this.
The signing of some of the best in the Liverpool team like Sadio Mane and Mohammed Salah we're for 34 and 45 million pounds respectively and this were really good steals . And in my opinion Sadio Mane is the best player Liverpool has signed in 12 years. So back to Minamino, he's a quality player whose dribbling skills are out of this world, I remember him famously dribbling the hell out of Virgil Van Dijk in match Liverpool played with Salzburg. He's energetic, quite a runner and his ability to take on players is hardly questionable. He's a player who gives you a choice as a winger and as a midfielder. But oftentimes I've seen him play more midfield roles in Salzburg and he's quite very good driving through the opposition defence rather than cutting in from the midfield. He's talented with the ball to his chest and his height is quite good considering the fact that he's an Asian.
However the guy is not a free scoring player like the Kevin De Bruyne and Steven Gerald of this world, he's more of a team player who does something spectacular sometimes. He'll give you close to ten goals a season or just a little more and there's no telling as to how his capacities can extend under Jurgen Klopp and this is something interesting I'll really like to see. Klopp is a transitional manager, with what he's done with player like James Robertson and Alexander Trent as well as Divock Origi, I'm particularly curious to how Minamino will do under him. Howbeit he's hot a fair share of injuries, the Japanese international has a history of going on injuries while playing well and o hope at Liverpool this situation can be salvaged. He's not going to outrightly slot into the team, he'll blend and learn the trade from the bench and to me of you look at the history of Asian players in the EPL, they've relatively done well. So what to expect from Takumi Minamino?
Honestly I don't know, he comes with a lot of prospect, no pressure at all considering the transfer fee which Liverpool can afford to gamble with. They've experienced his capabilities first hand and they obviously know what he can do and paying 7.5 for him is a big steal considering the audacious inflation in European football transfer market. Liverpool are thinking big of the now and the future and this transfer speaks volume of it. When we consider Minamino's age and prospect I kept wondering how he's coming for 7.5 while relatively average and overhyped players are coming for 40 plus or more. I feel the transfer fee would even be better for his development because nobody will be coming for him to do big things like the Nicholas Pepe of this world who came for 70 plus. I'm tipping this guy to make a name for himself at Liverpool in two years from now.