Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has said that Takumi Minamino was absolutely brilliant in training yesterday, during his press conference which was broadcast on the club’s official website.
Minamino has not been in a Liverpool starting line-up in the league all season, with his minutes extremely limited.
The arrival of Diogo Jota seems to have knocked the £7 million man (BBC Sport) a long way down the pecking order.
But Klopp says that the Japanese international is fighting hard to win his place back in the side.
“No, there’s no dip in form. Taki is training well; yesterday, he trained exceptionally for example,” he said.
“It’s the last session I have in mind and he was really, really good. It is just a strong team and offensively, thank God, we don’t have the same problems we have in pretty much all the other positions, so it’s hard to get into this team. That’s how it is. But there is no dip in form, it’s just a challenge.
“Taki is a sensational boy and a great player, he is facing that challenge, he is working hard and his time will come, no doubt.”
Minamino was actually one of Liverpool’s most exciting players over pre-season, but he has struggled for opportunities since the competitive campaign started up.
The 25-year-old now finds himself behind Jota, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, while Xherdan Shaqiri’s promising form off the bench has made things even more difficult for him.
Minamino could at least feature tomorrow evening, when Liverpool take on Atalanta in the Champions League.
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