‘The thing that hurt is that Liverpool got him way, way, way too cheap’: Red Bull Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch insists club should have sold Takumi Minamino for much more than £7.25m
- Liverpool wrapped up cut-price £7.25m deal for Takumi Minamino last December
- Minamino shone for Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League
- And their manager now claims Liverpool signed him way too cheaply last year
Red Bull Salzburg manager Jesse Marsch claims that Liverpool signed Takumi Minamino way too cheaply in December last year.
Liverpool wrapped up the cut-price £7.25million signing of the Japanese forward after he impressed in the Champions League for Salzburg, beating Manchester United to his signature.
Liverpool were well aware of Minamino’s talents after he featured twice against them in the group stage this season, and Salzburg boss Marsch has since admitted that it hurt to lose him for such a low price.
Takumi Minamino joined Liverpool in a bargain £7.25million deal in December last year
Speaking exclusively on a Blood Red podcast, Marsch conceded: ‘The thing that hurt with Taki is that Liverpool got him way, way, way too cheap.
‘But this is part of managing the market and managing player contracts.
‘We always have here, with the scouting team and the sports director, they do an amazing job, and we always have the next generation of players here and ready to take the next step.’
Minamino has endured a quiet start to life at Anfield, featuring just seven times for the club since his arrival as the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino continue to steal the headlines up top for Liverpool.
But Marsch is in no doubt that the 25-year-old will become a big success at Anfield soon enough.
The Japanese forward has played seven times in all competitions for the Reds since joining
Marsch said: ‘What you have right now at Liverpool is some of the best players in the world in this position. Taki is still young and he will need to adapt.
‘He is not a purely explosive player like Sadio Mane or Mo Salah – he has physical qualities, but he is a really intelligent footballer. It may take time for everyone to fully appreciate his qualities, but it will come.
‘We’ve seen it here – his ability to understand tactical systems, his ability to find attacking moments, be good around the goal, it’s all good.
‘It may take a little bit of time but eventually it will come together for him.’
Minamino featured twice against Liverpool in the Champions League for Red Bull Salzburg
