Liverpool FC Thread #165:- We are Liverpool

[thomashl_99]

C̶h̶a̶m̶p̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶E̶u̶r̶o̶p̶e̶
Champions of the World

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Champions League
UEFA Super Cup
Club World Cup

Liverpool are the first English team to complete the continental treble.

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On the shirt all next year

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Remarkable Takumi Minamino interview shows Liverpool move was a long time in the making



Takumi Minamino's move to Liverpool has been a long time in the making.

At the end of 2015, when Minamino had just spent a year at RB Salzburg, he was asked by a reporter what his career dreams and aspirations were.

The interviewer asked: "Where do you want to go? What league or team?"

To which Minamino boldly responded: "Premier League because [Jurgen] Klopp moved to Liverpool, I want to go Liverpool."

Four years later and the 24-year-old has completed the £7.25million move from Austria after signing a four-and-a-half year deal to join the reigning European champions .

In the remarkable footage, which has been posted to Twitter, of a TV news report from Japan on Thursday, it also showed a picture of Shinji Kagawa and Jurgen Klopp.

It is thought Minamino was inspired to play under the German coach after seeing the development of Kagawa who played under Klopp at Borussia Dortmund.

The Japanese duo both came through at the same J-League side, Cerezo Osaka, and Minamino has now realised his four-year-old dream.

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The 'opportunistic' approach that could shape Liverpool January transfer window



It was a deal that took Liverpool fans by surprise.

When news broke last week that the Reds were closing in on a deal to sign Takumi Minamino, supporters were doubly delighted.

Not only were Liverpool signing a player that had directly impressed in two meetings with Jurgen Klopp's side this season but, after a summer of relative inactivity in the transfer market, the Reds were moving quickly to beat their rivals to an in-demand player.

But Reds fans shouldn't have been too surprised, this is a tactic Klopp, Michael Edwards and Liverpool's recruitment team have long employed.

When opportunity knocks, they don't hesitate.

From months before the transfer window opened last summer, the overtures from Anfield have consistently been that the Reds are not planning on spending big this summer.

New faces did arrive, of course. But the likes of Harvey Elliott and Sepp van den Berg were signed to populate the fringes of the squad given the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno were allowed to depart the club.

Youngsters, too, were given a chance to flourish, such as teenage striker Rhian Brewster.

But big names to sate the desire of fans who love a good old transfer story? No.

And it's a similar story for January.

More signings aren't completely out of the question.

If Liverpool's recruitment of recent years has demonstrated anything, it's that the Reds are not averse to a little bit of leftfield thinking.

Nor are they reluctant to capitalise on a deal that appears almost too good to pass over.

This opportunistic approach has been a regular feature since Klopp's arrival and the promotion of Edwards to sporting director has improved the channels of communication throughout the process of buying and selling.

Confidence has been built, with Liverpool now seen as among the top transfer operators in the Premier League and beyond.

Consider the window of 2018. The Reds raised eyebrows by triggering Xherdan Shaqiri's £13.75million release clause at Stoke City, although the homework had already been done.

At the other end of the scale, when Liverpool were made aware the price for Alisson Becker had dropped somewhere near an accepted value, they wasted no time in agreeing a £65m deal with Roma.

The previous year, Andy Robertson was taken from relegated Hull City for less than £10m, while the Reds made the most of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's contract impasse at Arsenal with a deadline-day £35m move.

And in 2016, more inside knowledge allowed them to snap up Joel Matip on a free transfer from Schalke.

It was that inside knowledge that allowed the Reds to steal a march on rivals Manchester United to sign Minamino for a fee of just £7.25m.

Each transfer involved either a quick reaction or a clever piece of thinking from Liverpool. Splashing big money, though, was not a prerequisite.

The same, then, could apply again in January. The Reds will keep their eyes and ears open - and if the right deal comes at the right price, they've demonstrated they won't hesitate to get it done.

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YouTube Video

[nywa78]

Fantastic win. Next big game against Leicester. YNWA

[lukeber]

📰🏆 "Champions of Europe. Champions of the world. Now Liverpool can crack on with the one they really want – becoming champions of England."

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