‘We don’t know’: Premier League manager on Liverpool attacker’s future | OneFootball

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has admitted that he does not know whether or not Takumi Minamino will stay at the club beyond the end of his current loan.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, as quoted by Hampshire Live’s Tom Leach, Hasenhuttl confirmed that he does not know yet what the future holds for Minamino in terms of next season.

He says that Minamino has done a ‘good job’ for Southampton since joining the club on loan from Liverpool at the end of the January transfer window.

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ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

It will be very interesting to see what Liverpool do with Minamino in the summer. Jurgen Klopp seemingly did not think he was good enough to keep around the first-team set-up as he allowed him to leave on loan in January, which suggests that he has no place at Liverpool next season unless something drastically changes in the next few months before the start of the 2021/22 campaign. This means that Minamino could be in a position where he needs to start looking for a new club.

At the age of 26, Minamino is not a young prospect Liverpool can afford to loan out for a number of years before he develops into a first-team player. He should be in the prime years of his career and if he is not good enough to be a regular at Liverpool now, he may not ever reach that level. Therefore, a permanent transfer could suit all parties involved this summer, if Klopp does not want him as part of his squad going forward.

Hasenhuttl says that he does not know about Minamino’s future and that could suggest that Southampton have not had any discussions over whether or not they would be interested in signing him on a permanent basis. Minamino has scored twice in six Premier League starts for the Saints and Hasenhuttl says that he has done a ‘good job’. Given these comments, perhaps, Southampton could be keen on bringing the Japan international back to St. Mary’s next season.