Former Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino has praised the role that James Milner played in leading the Reds squad.
Minamino moved on to Monaco last summer after spending two-and-a-half years at Anfield. Since moving to France, Taki has found minutes just as hard to come by as he did on Merseyside.
Perhaps relieved for a break from club duty, Minamino looked back on his time at Liverpool for Japanese outlet Kyodo News. And he had nothing but praise for several of his former teammates.
“Salah and Mane were the two players who trained more than anyone,” said the 27-year-old. “Thiago [Alcantara] got lots of injuries but he was really professional, trying to avoid them by doing exercises I’ve never seen before. [James] Milner was a real veteran but was fresher than anyone and led with his voice in training.
“There’ve been moments I thought, ‘What if I had played constantly during that period?’. I’m striving now to make sure I can say I gained something [from the time at Liverpool].”
Taki continues to struggle for game time after leaving Liverpool
Although he only left in the summer, it actually feels like an age since Minamino was a Liverpool player. This rather wretched season feels to have gone on forever.
When Taki was a Red, things were slightly rosier. And to be fair to the Japan international, he had a big hand in that.
Yes, he wasn’t a regular in the starting XI in the Premier League, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t make an impact.
Top scorer in both of the domestic cup competitions, Liverpool owe much of their two trophy wins last season to Minamino.
It’s a shame then, to see how he has struggled to get going at Monaco. No Liverpool fan would have begrudged Taki his move in the summer, but you do have to wonder if he might have been as well staying.
With long-ish term injuries to Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, he would probably have got a fair amount of game time.
Anyway, he left. At Monaco, he is often finding himself on the bench, too. Minamino has only started five of the Principality side’s 15 Ligue 1 games, with one out of six starts in the Europa League.
Those games have brought just one goal for Taki, as he heads to the World Cup in disappointing form. Hopefully he can get some confidence back during his time in Qatar and push on for the second half of the season.
As for Milner, this isn’t a surprise. It’s Milner, who else were you expecting!
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