Southampton “Have Had Talks” With Liverpool About Takumi Minamino

It could yet be that Takumi Minamino will have a future at Anfield, but with the Reds looking to raise funds it wouldn’t be a shock if the Japanese international ends up departing the club this summer.

If he does, it would be a solid bet that he will end up with Southampton, where he spent the second half of the 2020-21 season on loan after manager Ralph Hasenhüttl admitted that they have held talks with Liverpool about a permanent deal.

“The most important thing for him is that he gets a chance to play,” Hasenhüttl told Hampshire Live. “We had so much rotation with injuries and everything that it was clear he would get a lot of game time with us.

“We have had talks with them and they are not so sure what will happen because Liverpool may make some things happen in the transfer market. For him, it was important to play. We gave him that chance to play and we have enjoyed having him here.”

Minamino joined Liverpool in January of 2020 after the club triggered his £7.25M release clause. He made 31 appearances in all competitions for them before joining Southampton and playing ten times in the league for the Saints.

“Players like to join big clubs because they get a lot of money there and they get a lot of praise,” Hasenhüttl added. “But it is only for a short moment because when you are not playing it feels very awful very quickly.”