Liverpool have been told they are going to miss out on the “peak years” of Takumi Minamino after selling him to Monaco.
Minamino joined Monaco on a four-year contract last month after Liverpool accepted a £15.4million offer from the French club, made up of a £12.9m up-front fee with a further £2.5m in add-ons. The 27-year-old was a popular player with the Reds but struggled to hold down a place in Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The Japan international joined Liverpool from Red Bull Salzburg for £7.25m in January 2020 and contributed 14 goals and three assists in 55 appearances. Those statistics don’t tell the whole story, though, with Minamino registering four goals and one assist in the EFL Cup and three goals in the FA Cup to help Liverpool win both competitions last season.
Monaco’s head of recruitment, Paul Mitchell, says Minamino appealed to him because of his experience, with the lack of game time at Liverpool not concerning. "A player like Taki can sometimes seem like an obvious one because he comes from Liverpool and not a small unknown part of the world, but everything is about balance,” he told Sky Sports.
“We are the second youngest team in French football and one of the youngest in Europe, and with Taki we wanted to bring a bit more of a mature element, that was multifunctional. Monaco has to be playing in the big games in Europe too, so we should have profiles like Taki Minamino, who are exciting and offensive.
“It was difficult for him at Liverpool, because you look at the wealth of quality that Jurgen Klopp has at his disposal, and Liverpool have always recruited really strongly and very efficiently. Options and opportunity were so limited, and we are fortunate because of that. We get a player coming into his peak years.”
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Monaco beat Leeds and Fulham to the signing of Minamino. He often found himself on the bench at Liverpool due to the competition for places provided by Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Divock Origi, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota.
Monaco will hope they can help the attacker recreate his form at Salzburg. In Austria, Minamino returned 64 goals and 43 assists in 198 games between January 2015 and January 2020, helping them win the title in each season he was there.
Mitchell previously worked at MK Dons, Southampton, Tottenham and RB Leipzig in recruitment and he says Minamino’s arrival is part of a wider picture at the French club. "There is a global strategy for assigning players," he added.
"I know everyone likes to look in isolation and signings are very exciting part of all of our jobs and all of our lives, but for me I have to think long, medium and short-term. Investments, if they go badly, can haunt and stop progression, so I have to take it very seriously."
