Former £9M rated Liverpool forward described as 'too frail' - struggling in Ligue 1

Former £9M rated Liverpool forward struggling for form since leaving Merseyside - has been described as 'too frail' for Ligue 1.

AS Monaco's Takumi Minamino, formally of Liverpool, completed an €18M move to the French club this summer in the hope of regular first-team action.

The Japanese attacker could never break into the Liverpool first-team set-up and was considered a fringe attacker at best during his time in England.

However, the latest reports coming from France claim the attacker is struggling at his new club and in a new league with some claiming he is struggling with the intensity of the league.

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Minamino's poor start

Despite having only 344 minutes of action so far, reporters have been quick to get on the 27-year-old's back after a quiet start to life in France.

He's started five out of the seven appearances so far, and also managed a goal and two assists during that time but Quotidien Du Sport were still on hand to call him the 'flop of the season so far'.

"The Japanese had to speed up the Monegasque game and bring movement in attack. In nine games, he played six, and never stayed on the pitch for more than 67 minutes.

"Replaced or substitute, Minamino seems too frail physically and struggling in the intensity of the duels, we understand why he did not win in the Premier League."

Given he's only been at the club for a matter of months and played less than 350 minutes - it's clear he deserves more time to settle in at his club and his goal and assist at the weekend will be something to build on.

He'll have to battle it out with the likes of Aleksandr Golovin, Breel Embolo and Wissam Ben Yedder for a starting place in the attacking roles but will see plenty of action throughout the season regardless.

During his time at Liverpool, he managed to win the Premier League, FA Cup and played a key role the side's Carabao Cup victory, especially in the early knockout rounds of the competition.

Overall, he featured 55 times scoring 14 goals and assisting three times but was never capable of breaking into a front line dominated by Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz.