Liverpool play down Takumi Minamino's Japan squad withdrawal

Tribal Football

·13 June 2021

Liverpool play down Takumi Minamino's Japan squad withdrawal

Liverpool have played down Takumi Minamino's withdrawal from the Japan squad.

The Liverpool Echo reports Minamino has withdrawn from Japan's squad due to an arrangement over agreed playing time.

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The Japan FA announced on Saturday that Minamino was leaving the national team due to "club circumstances" and wouldn't feature in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan.

That prompted speculation the 26-year-old was returning to England to sort out a possible transfer from Liverpool, with Southampton pondering whether to make a permanent offer for a player they took on loan for the second half of the recent season.

However, Minamino's withdrawal is not connected to his Liverpool future and rather the amount of minutes he has featured for his country in the last three weeks.