Jurgen Klopp has admitted it’s “incredibly hard” for Takumi Minamino to be regularly left out of the Liverpool team after arriving from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.
A year into his time at Anfield, Minamino was loaned out to Southampton for the second half of last season. His time on the south coast did not go fully to plan, but he has enjoyed a better campaign for Liverpool this year.
In his 22 appearances for the club this season, the Japan international has nine goals to his name. Minamino played a key role in helping the club reach the Carabao Cup final, although did not feature in the Wembley showpiece against Chelsea.
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The addition of Luis Diaz in January coupled with the fitness of Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have meant regular opportunities for Minamino have been hard to come by. Klopp admits that it’s not easy for him to leave out Minamino, adding that he’s “incredibly hard” for the player not to play as often as he deserves.
"Yes, we can do that now," Klopp told Sky Sports , when asked if he can make changes for strategic reasons rather than injuries.
"It is always in our thoughts because of the load and the intensity of the period we are in.
“Bobby was injured but now he is back so that gives us another option again. It is crazy because we still have Divock and Taki on top of that."
"It is incredibly hard for him and for me as well because it is really tough these kind of things. Taki is in an incredible moment."
Klopp went on to talk about the chances of players leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. The German has admitted that it’s possible that fringe players could head for the exit door when the summer transfer window opens.
"It is unlikely with the size of the squad that we now stay exactly like this together,” said Klopp.
“For sure, some of the players do not play often enough for their own understanding and we will see what will come in the summer and find solutions for those situations.
"But the core of the group has to stay together. There is no doubt about that."
