The Scotland left-back Andy Robertson has praised the Japan international after he completed his transfer from Austria to Merseyside
Robertson has hailed new Liverpool signing Takumi Minamino after his impressive performances against the Reds in the Champions League, claiming that the attacking midfielder caused problems with his dribbling.
Liverpool faced Red Bull Salzburg in the group stages of this year’s competition, beating them twice to ensure they finished top of Group E and booked their place in the last 16.
It was in their clash at Anfield that Minamino particularly impressed, with the Austrian champions staging an impressive comeback from 3-0 down to level the scores by the hour mark – with Minamino grabbing a goal and an assist – before Mohamed Salah’s second goal of the night decided the contest in the Reds’ favour.
And Robertson remembers being impressed by the Japan international’s display, seeing him as the best player in a good side.
“It was difficult to play against Salzburg full stop, but I thought he was their main man,” Robertson told the Liverpool Echo. “He was the one, especially at Anfield, who caused us problems.
“When we went 3-0 up, he started to dictate the game. He started to run at us a wee bit and he got a goal and an assist.
“That might be why the gaffer started looking at him and thinking ‘who is this player?’.
“In the two games we played against them, he was great. Other than that, I hadn’t really seen him play.
“He will be a welcome addition for us and I’m sure he will be a fantastic player.
“We look forward to him coming over in January and I’m sure he’ll add to the already high quality in this squad.”
Following the game a number of Liverpool players approached head coach Jurgen Klopp to recommend that the club make a move for Minamino, so impressive was his showing on Merseyside.
However, Robertson reveals that he was not one of the players involved, and claims he had no knowledge of his team-mates speaking to Klopp about signing the attacking midfielder.
“No, I wasn’t one of them! I don’t know if that’s true or not,” Robertson continued. “But if players did that, then I can definitely see why.”
Minamino has nine goals and 11 assists in 22 appearances across all competitions for Salzburg this term, with two goals and three assists in just six Champions League games.
