View: Leeds United should make another move for Takumi Minamino
Leeds United should make another move for Liverpool ace Takumi Minamino after the highly mooted January swoop for the Japanese international broke down.
The Whites had an approach for the “incredible” 27-year-old turned down amid their injury crisis, leaving then-manager Marcelo Bielsa’s squad very much depleted [Evening Standard].
They might not be as desperate as they were for players but the introduction of Jesse Marsch as manager could see Leeds try and prize the attacker away from Anfield one more time.
The pair worked together at RB Salzburg and the American will want to add some quality, familiar faces to his squad as he begins a new era at Elland Road.
Champions league quality
Minamino surely can’t be happy with his standing in the pecking order at Liverpool.
He has seen Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz both join the club after him and be fast-tracked straight into action whilst he sits on the bench and features every now and then in the meaningless games.
Even when Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane departed for AFCON, the forward was left very much out of the picture.
He played some of – if not – his best football under Marsch in Austria and if his former coach comes calling you would imagine he would come – if he has any ambition as a player.
Despite failing to start a Premier League game this season, he has an impressive goalscoring record with ten goal involvements in 22 games – imagine what he could do if he was a consistent starter in a tried and tested system that suits him.
The Whites are desperate for some squad depth with this season being a glaringly obvious indicator of that. Not only could Minamino provide that depth, but he could also help take the club to the next level with his Champions League level experience and quality.
He would be open for a move having spent some time on loan at Southampton in his first season at the club but Leeds could offer the maestro a permanent way out of warming the Reds’ bench.
In other Leeds United news, a “clear concern” has been shared after Jesse March’s first Leeds United game.