What Takumi Minamino ‘wisely’ improved during lockdown
Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino used his lockdown wisely.
The Japanese international joined the club from RB Salzburg in January but found it tough to adjust and never really looked convincing on the field.
Moving countries is never easy, and neither is adjusting to Jurgen Klopp’s demands. He is loath to throw new signings into the team straight away, and even elite players like Andy Robertson and Fabinho were made to wait for their chance.
All while Takumi Minamino was trying to get to grips with Liverpool, the Premier League and England, lockdown happened.
Everyone was confined to their houses while COVID-19 ravaged the country. Some people used that time to crack baking, others worked on their fitness while the whole squad stayed connected with fitness sessions on Zoom.
Minamino came back and appeared to be more integrated, physically up to speed and ready to have an impact. He made appearances in seven of the nine games during Project Restart, starting twice.
The 25-year-old scored his first Liverpool goal during the Community Shield game against Arsenal, and we finally know what he did during lockdown to bring about the improvements.
It’s very simple. Minamino worked really hard on his English, said James Pearce in the Athletic’s Red Agenda podcast.
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"“He is quite a quiet and shy guy but he used lockdown wisely to improve his English. The feedback from the staff on the training field is that he is now a lot more at ease with what is expected of him on and off the ball.”"
It’s good to see the forward busting a gut to make sure he starts 2020/2021 in the best possible shape, mentally and physically. It doesn’t look like Liverpool are in the market for a forward, so he’s got a big part to play this season.
Minamino impressed during former side Salzburg’s Champions League run and that gives us all hope that his abilities can translate onto the field during the Premier League.
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If he keeps improving at the rate he is, we should be able to see him doing well in the first team very soon.