Leeds United are set for a head-to-head battle with Southampton for Liverpool attacker Takumi Minamino. The Liverpool attacker has been made available this summer with Liverpool looking to rebuild their attacking frontline, with the potential signing of Darwin Nunez from Benfica.
Leeds have been strongly linked with Minamino, who has impressed in limited game time for Liverpool finishing as their fifth top goalscorer this past season scoring 10 goals in 24 games. Last week, there were talks of Minamino plus cash for Raphinha, with Liverpool reportedly keen, but Raphinha has reportedly poured cold water on that, preferring a move to Barcelona.
A report from freelance Liverpool football journalist David Lynch has stated that Liverpool are willing to let Minamino go this summer for a fee in the region of £17m (€20m), and they expect his future to be resolved quickly amid strong interest. And whilst Wolves, Fulham and Monaco were all said to be interested, it's now looking like that the two most likely landing spots would be Leeds or Southampton.
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The Times have reported Southampton are once again in for Minamino, where he spent half a season on loan in 2021 under Ralph Hassenhuttl. AS Monaco are another club named in the report.
Minamino’s agent is reportedly already holding meetings with a number of clubs as he looks to finalise a move for his client.
The Japanese forward has been at Liverpool for two-and-a-half seasons after signing from RB Salzburg - where he played under Jesse Marsch - for £7.25 million in January 2020, during which he also spent the second half of the 2020/2021 campaign on loan at Southampton.
Prior to his Premier League move, the forward spent six seasons with Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga - he also has 39 caps for Japan.
