Jurgen Klopp offers some clarity on future of ‘important’ Liverpool star | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has offered some clarity on the future of Takumi Minamino, in his pre-match notes prior to the Reds’ clash with Southampton over the weekend.

As relayed on the club’s official website, the boss is confident the Japan star will be an ‘important’ player for his side next season, just as he was before departing on loan.

“He’s done really well at Southampton and this is no surprise,” Klopp said. “When we allowed him to go in January it was a tough call to make because he is an important player for us and will be again in the future. But it made sense for him and us.”

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It’s nice to see the boss lay it out in black and white, but there should be no confusion over whether or not Minamino has a place in the Liverpool squad.

Although the 26-year-old was allowed to join Southampton on loan in January, Klopp refused to give the Saints an option to make the move permanent.

As initially reported by The Athletic’s James Pearce, Ralph Hasenhuttl wanted to insert an option to buy clause in the contract – but it was rejected out of hand, making the loan move a fairly risk free endeavour for Liverpool.