This Sunday was a strange one for Kopites. For the first time in a while, The Reds were very poor and didn’t win as they drew 2-2 with Shrewsbury Town. What is this feeling? After another lacklustre display, Takumi Minamino should look to Fabinho for motivation.
The Reds signed Minamino at the start of January after agreeing a £7.25m fee with Red Bull Salzburg.
The Japanese forward had impressed in his performances against Jürgen Klopp’s side in the Champions League.
Since his arrival we’ve seen the forward on three occasions: the FA Cup tie with Everton, as a substitute against Wolves and as a starter against Shrewsbury Town.
Taki showed some bright touches on his debut but was largely ineffectual in his last two showings.
Facing Shrewsbury Town his movement was bright but there was no end product, against a League One side he really should have imposed himself more.
However, this is to be expected. The new arrival is still finding his feet in a Liverpool shirt and it is important to remember that he doesn’t yet speak English fluently.
Takumi Minamino can draw inspiration from his teammate Fabinho.
When Fabby first arrived in the summer of 2018, he struggled to cement a first team place until the winter period.
The Brazilian was in and out of the side as he adjusted to life under Jürgen Klopp.
When he finally go up to speed with the Liverpool way, he became undroppable.
Whilst Minamino is unlikely to be a regular first XI contender in the near future, he can still look toward Fabinho and the work that he put in to nail down his place in this Liverpool side.
Once Taki has picked up a bit more English, spent more time with his teammates and been tutored a bit more by Jürgen Klopp he will be unplayable.
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