Liverpool loanee Takumi Minamino made a fine start to his Southampton career on Saturday with former Saints captain Dean Hammond hailing a “very intelligent” display against Newcastle United, speaking to the Final Whistle podcast.
As Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp both suffered damaging defeats at the weekend, two players loaned out by Premier League giants offered a timely reminder of their talent.
15 minutes after Arsenal loanee Joe Willock opened the scoring for Newcastle at St James’ Park, Minamino gave a beleaguered Saints side something to cheer with a fabulous individual goal on his debut for the South Coast club.
If the first touch was impressive – taking Isaac Hayden out of the game in the blink of an eye – the finish was even better, ruthlessly rifled into the roof of the net with his weaker left foot.
Southampton’s defensive deficiencies meant Minamino’s moment of magic counted for nothing in the end, with nine-man Newcastle holding on to a 3-2 lead. However, a promising performance at least gave Saints supporters a reason to feel more positive for the weeks to come.
“His awareness was very good, use of both feet, (and he was) very, very intelligent in his movement,” Hammond says.
“For the goal, (Minamino) was kind of playing in that number 10 role, and his first touch is fantastic.
“You can see there are definitely signs of him being a class player, a class act. I think he will be really effective.”
In Hammond’s own words, Minamino ran out of steam as the game progressed.
Then again, that’s to be expected when you consider Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp handed the 26-year-old only two Premier League starts in the first half of 2020/21.
If he features week in, week out at Southampton, don’t be surprised if Minamino starts to produce the kind of form that put him on Liverpool’s radar in the first place.
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