2016/21 Masaya Okugawa | 2014/19 Takumi Minamino @ FC Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)

Not necessarily a good news for the National Team. Doan is holding the fort at PSV but Nakajima is getting rusty and Minamino might (will) be in the same situation soon.

 

You, however I think you will be more excited if it was Hwang rather than Minamino.

 

why would I be excited about a player I don't rate? even Saku rates or rated him higher than I ever did

 

I thought you will be excited at Hwang moving to a big European club given that you are a South Korea NT fan.

 

so? i'm also half japanese and support JNT.

Hwang and Doan are in the same bracket for me. just runners. brawns.. nothing more.

 

You have to be some what impressed by his display in CL though?

 

Klopp did well with Kagawa. Let's hope he will do the same with Minamino.

 

If Minamino really joins Liverpool in a winter transfer window, I think he is used mainly as a backup at best. At first his main competitors are Shaqiri or Chambelain, not the beasts in the main front 3. (especially Shaqiri, if he's any good, Kloop doesn't need to by Minamino at the first place. And if Minamino couldn't compete with an aging Shaqiri for a spot in the bench, he should be worried)

After that for longer future, he should be patient. Quality players like Fabinho, Naby Keita needed ~1 year to be fully integrated in Kloop's system.

The interesting thing is whether Kloop sees Minamino as just a mere versatile player to backup for all positions in front 3, or does he actually want to 'update' his system. In current Liverpool team, the 3 midfielders are all workhorse type, in order to allow the front 3 and the 2 fullbacks to focus on the attacks.

However, some fans are critics their midfield for being too rigid. If Kloop really wants to switch back to 4213 aka his early Dortmund style, Minamino is an ideal AMF behind the CF like how Kloop used to utilize Kagawa. But in this way, he risks to expose his fullbacks and has to modify his midfielders too much.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...ks-to-sign-salzburgs-takumi-minamino-for-725m

 

Assist for Okugawa in the last match before the winter break:

奥川雅也がダカのゴールをアシスト！！ pic.twitter.com/wGKgD3ykJB

— yukisanga (@yukisanga) December 14, 2019

Minamino wasn’t part of this match’s squad, as it was the case with Håland.
Most probably they are being rested in fear of injuries that might risk their pending transfers in the January transfer window.

 

Minamino, Norway dude and Korean dude were not even on the bench. Maybe they simply choose to give the starters some day of vacation as a bonus for their good first half season?
Anyway that Klopp's answer is a clear lye.

 

And not risk injury before they sell.

 

He passed the medical test at Liverpool:

Takumi Minamino has passed his medical and will sign for Liverpool on January 1st for a fee of £7.25million. #LFC

— TC (@TransferChecker) December 18, 2019

 

It will be fun to see more Asian players in EPL. Hope to see Hwang in EPL next season.

 

Time to party guys!

 

Okugawa just scored in the Austrian Cup quarterfinal.

 

Okugawa scored again in the game against Salzburg's biggest contenders for the title, LASK, but they lost the game, and are now second with one point behind their rivals.

9 goals & 6 assists in 22 games for him this season so far.

 

Scored his 8th goal in the league today, surely the national team coach must have taken notice.

 

The Austrian league will resume on 30th of May.

 

Okugawa scored today.

His 9th league goal of the season.