French Giants Monaco confirm signing of Japan Forward Takumi Minamino

Japanese forward Takumi Minamino has completed his transfer to AS Monaco after signing a four-year contract with the Ligue 1 club.

Author: IANS

Updated: June 29, 2022, 12:00 PM IST

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Japanese forward Takumi Minamino has completed his transfer to AS Monaco after signing a four-year contract with the Ligue 1 club.

London, June 28 (IANS): Japanese forward Takumi Minamino has completed a move to French giants Monaco, after signing a four-year contract with the Ligue 1 club.

Minamino leaves Anfield for Ligue 1 after making 55 appearances in all competitions during his two-and-a-half-year stint on Merseyside, scoring 14 goals and providing three assists.

The Japan international earned a Premier League winner’s medal in his first half-season on Merseyside, appearing 14 times in the historic and Covid-19-impacted 2019-20 campaign. He is only the third Japanese player to win a Premier League medal, the other two being Shinji Kagawa with Manchester United in the 2012/13 season, and Shinji Okazaki in Leicester’s City’s iconic 15/16 season (where they were placed at 5000/1 odds to win the league).

He opened his goalscoring account for Liverpool at the beginning of the 2020-21 season, in the Community Shield against Arsenal at Wembley. He then scored a brace against Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup, before notching a first Premier League strike at Crystal Palace in an emphatic 7-0 victory. To find regular game time in the Premier League, though, the attacker spent the second half of that season on loan at Southampton. Last season, though, he returned to Anfield to play a vital role in the year to come.

Minamino, who seemed to be Jurgen Klopp’s main domestic cup-player, helped the Reds to glory in both domestic cup competitions, as they returned two trophies, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, to Anfield after playing every game available to them. Leading the way for the team, the 27-year-old international scored four goals in five Carabao Cup outings, and three goals in four FA Cup outings.

Due to his quality and first-class attitude, Klopp once described Minamino as a ‘coach’s dream’, with the boss acknowledging that the No.18 deserved many more starting berths. Now, he will likely be starting every week for the Ligue 1 team.

Minamino, via AS Monaco’s official website, said:
“It’s a great joy for me to join AS Monaco. I am happy to be part of the club’s project, which has just finished on the podium (third) twice in a row and is one of the most recognized in an exciting championship. I can’t wait to discover my new environment and do everything possible to help the team.”