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What exactly is Takumi Minamino’s best position for Liverpool?
It’s a question asked of him when he first arrived from Red Bull Salzburg for £ 7.25 million after having dazzled in the Champions League group stage at Anfield, and yet almost a year later the answer still hasn’t. is clear.
Their inclusion in the starting lineup to face Brighton & Hove Albion, their first Premier League start to the season, was more of a default than anything else, with Sadio Mané and Curtis Jones needing a break after their recent exploits and with the likes. . Xherdan Shaqiri, Thiago Alcântara, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were unavailable due to injury.
When asked about Minamino before the match, it was notable that Klopp chose to focus more on the volume of football that Jones in particular has played over the past week (the full 180 minutes against Leicester City and Atalanta), as opposed to what Minamino could do specifically. bring to this game. Interestingly, he described him as a midfield option rather than an attacker, and it soon became clear that Minamino would apparently be operating as the No. 8 on the right side as part of the midfield trio alongside Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner.
It’s a role he hadn’t played before for Liverpool, with previous outings on the right and in the middle of the three forwards, or as number 10 in a 4-2-3-1 form. Here, he was positioned significantly deeper than usual, frequently lifting the ball in and around the midline rather than in the last third, and with additional defensive responsibilities, particularly with the inexperienced Neco Willams on the right back and with Mohamed. . Salah predominantly Liverpool’s most advanced player, offering very little flank coverage.
There was an occasional good piece of linking gameplay here and there, but overall, Minamino really struggled to impact the game in a significant way, circling the periphery of the action as if he didn’t quite know what. his role in the system was meant to be. It was disturbingly similar to his Premier League debut against Wolves in January, when he was unable to prevail in proceedings either, never in sync with his teammates.
So it was understandable because it was new, but it is not unreasonable to think that it would have been more prepared than it seems at the moment. Of course, there are a host of valid mitigating factors. He teamed up with a behemoth who was in the midst of the most formidable form ever seen in any of Europe’s major leagues, so it was never realistic to expect him to step in and start making substantial contributions right away.
Shortly after moving to a new country, he was deprived of the usual period of integration with his colleagues because he could not play football for three months. Klopp regularly emphasizes the crucial importance of pace and momentum, and Minamino has hardly had any. And when he has been given opportunities, it has often been as part of a badly broken national cup lineup, or in a position that doesn’t seem to best suit his strengths.
However, there comes a point where you can’t keep coming up with new reasons to explain a constant lack of impact, and a player goes down or nothing. Minamino was not actively poor against Brighton, he just didn’t show anything to suggest he’s close to deserving a starting job on a regular basis. He still seems worryingly light and easy to hit the ball, and his speed in decision making, one of his strongest assets in Salzburg, is not evident enough.
It’s a long and grueling season and with injuries continuing to accumulate for Liverpool, Minamino will almost certainly be needed in the months to come. However, sooner or later you will have to seize one of your opportunities and show that you are capable of performing at the required level.
Liverpool’s recruiting team singled him out for a reason, but at this point, there are still a lot more questions than answers about what he can offer this team.
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