Takumi Minamino has told Kyodo News that Sadio Mane and Mo Salah trained the most during his time at Liverpool, which ended in the summer – like Mane – when he swapped Liverpool for Monaco in France, costing a fee of £15.5m.
Minamino, 27, clocked up 55 appearances for Liverpool during his two and a half years at Anfield. Six months of which was spent on loan at Southampton. He scored 14 goals, but with the World Cup coming up, Minamino chose to go.
He is expected to be a regular for Japan as they embark on an incredibly tough group against Germany, Spain and Costa Rica. His stats for Japan are superb, clocking up 43 caps and scoring 17 goals – as well as laying on eight assists.
Speaking ahead of Japan’s opener next Wednesday against Germany, Minamino reflected on his time at Liverpool. He said Salah and Mane that trained the most: “Salah and Mane were the two players who trained more than anyone.”
Minamino: Mane and Salah trained the most at Liverpool during his spell
Minamino was a good player to have at Liverpool to turn to, off the subs bench. Had he remained, you would argue he would be getting a decent amount of game time right now. Mane has gone to Bayern and hardly been replaced.
Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota have suffered hefty injuries, the latter sidelined for the World Cup with Portugal. Darwin Nunez is improving, but his form has been up and down. So much so, that Curtis Jones has started out wide this term.
Minamino struggled initially in France with Monaco. He has scored just one goal in 14 appearances for the French side, laying on three assists. Indeed, he has only started eight times and remained an unused sub on eight occasions, too.
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