Takumi Minamino, the forward from Japan, has been signed by Monaco on a four-year, £15.5 million contract after leaving Liverpool.
After breaking their bank for signing some young players which also includes a record transfer fee for opting the services of Darwin Nunez, Liverpool are now looking forward to offloading.
Already having enough firepower, the Reds have recently invested heavily to bring in the likes of Luis Diaz in January and now Darwin Nunez and Fabio Carvalho. Thus, the Merseyside club were looking to sign off and reduce the current forwad line. With this the club saw the departure of one of the Reds great Sadio Mane, the legendary super-sub Divock Origi, and now the latest one to add on to this list is the Japanese international Takumi Minamino.
The 27-year-old was sought after by a number of teams, including the Ligue 1 team. He joined the Reds from Red Bull Salzburg for £7.25 million in 2020.
Minamino said:
“I am very happy to be part of this very exciting project.”
Meanwhile, Takumi was Liverpool’s leading scorer in domestic cup tournaments last season with 14 goals in 55 appearances. The contract for the forward is worth a fixed 15 million euros (£12.9 million) and 3 million euros (£2.6 million) in add-ons.
The Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp comments on Takumi Minamino joining Monaco
The former Red Bull Salzburg forward has struggled to maintain a berth in the first squad since moving to Anfield in January 2020 for £7.25 million.
Minamino has 14 goals in 55 games for Liverpool. He spent the second half of the 2020–21 season on loan at Southampton.
Minamino only made 11 appearances, including one start, in the Premier League last season and thus he wanted to gain more game time. Thus, the Japan international made a switch. “It is a great joy for me to join AS Monaco” said the Ex-Liverpool forward.
He further added saying
“I’m looking forward to discovering my new environment and doing everything I can to help the team.”.
Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said:
“It’s hard to see Taki go, but it’s a great move for him and one he thoroughly deserves. “As a person, he is full of warmth and makes everyone feel positive. A manager’s dream, to be honest.” Said the Reds boss.
The German boss further added saying
“His contribution far outweighs the opportunities we were able to give, in terms of starting matches. He made us better each and every day he was with us – not just in the games he played in but every single session in training. Perfect attitude, winner’s mentality.”
Following the completion of Sadio Mane’s £35 million transfer to Bayern Munich and Darwin Nunez’s arrival on the Merseyside, Minamino left the club.
