What to do with Minamino
The signing of Minamino was announced at the same time as Klopp signing his contract extension, a joyous day to Kopites all over the world and a sense of excitement that we may have uncovered yet another hidden gem but fast forward a few months and the plan for Minamino is still somewhat vague.
Some saw him as natural cover and possibly even an heir apparent for Bobby. Some more cynical fans felt he was a business signing, who’s release clause was too low to be ignored and someone signed to sell on for profit.
Personally I think we just took a punt on potentially a bargain, who if wasn’t good enough for us, we would definitely make a profit on. Where are we with this though?
My concerns about whether Mini would make it with us started in his first handful of appearances, when it was glaringly obvious his teammates were choosing not to pass to him. This suggests they’d not been impressed by what they’d seen in training and if we’re being honest, he didn’t exactly light things up on the pitch.
Mini managed a single goal from 19 appearances from the reds and a lack of game time led to him being loaned to Southampton, where he’s fared slightly better by scoring two in 10 appearances but even taking a couple of steps down to the Saints, he was far from the first name on the team sheet.
What does the future hold for Mini then? Assuming Shaqiri and Origi leave and Mini and Elliot return, that would leave our traditional front three, Jota, Mini and Elliot. Now there’s some excitement around Elliot after a successful loan spell in the Championship but the same could be said of Brewster 12 months ago and we know how that’s worked out so Elliot is still beside Minamino in the ‘unproven’ bracket in my opinion.
Is that enough then? I don’t think anyone doubts Jota but the other two? Personally I think Elliot will develop into a midfield player or a 10 as I don’t think he has the natural pace for a winger and Minamino is the same so do we risk our backup options being too similar to each other and not really fit for purpose if asked to step in for Salah or Mane?
Personally I think if we receive a decent offer for Mini we should take it and invest in either another player of a similar profile to Jota, or my personal preference would be a recognised CF to give us more tactical flexibility.
Whatever happens with Minamino, he seems a decent lad, no lack of endeavour or effort from him and there’s a good player in there but is he good enough for us? I’m not so sure.
That’s it then but before I go and watch the mighty Scots see off those pesky Dutch, I pose the question – Minamino, stay or go?
Walk on!
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