Talks confirmed with club: forward catches inter-continental flight to negotiate move

The Japan FA has confirmed that Takumi Minamino is being withdrawn from their World Cup qualifiers squad to face Kyrgyzstan on the 15th of June.

The former RB Salzburg star could leave the club permanently this summer but is certain to leave on loan at the very least as his Liverpool prospects look bleak given the talent ahead of him in the pecking order.

He spent last season on loan with Southampton and after he impressed at St. Mary's, Taki is wanted by Ralph Hasenbutl again and has now been withdrawn from the Japan squad to sort out his club future.

What does the media say?

A report from Hampshire Live a week ago claimed that Liverpool are set for talks over Takumi Minamino’s future once he returns from international duty following a positive loan spell with Southampton.

Hampshire Live then reported that with talks yet to be held with Minamino, there are two ‘options on the table’ as Liverpool weigh up what to do. A loan or a permanent move are what's available to the 26-year-old.

“It is never nice for a player when you don’t end up getting the game time that you want to have, when you only train and are not see as part of the first 11,” Hasenhuttl said while speaking to Hampshire Live about Minamino.

Now, Yahoo! News Japan reports that he has been withdrawn from Japan's World Cup Qualifiers squad to sort his future out which should see some developments made next week.

What is the best-case scenario for Liverpool?

Liverpool aren't going to be able to give him the time he needs to develop and so selling him seems the best option on the table but as I said on Friday, Michael Edwards needs to negotiate a buyback clause or a sell-on clause to safeguard against regret.

The Reds paid £7.25m and so selling him for around £12million with one of the above-mentioned clauses would be a good deal I'd say.

As things stand, it doesn't seem likely that Liverpool will get the best out of Minamino and it's probably in the best interests of both parties to sell now and move on from a transfer that simply didn't work out.

For one reason or another, Klopp simply doesn't seem to trust the Japan international and so his game time at Anfield has been very limited.

What next for Liverpool?

If Minamino does leave this summer, it further highlights their need to sign at least one new forward this summer.

Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi are both set to leave the club and that will leave Jurgen Klopp with just four forwards which will be reduced to two when Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane leave for AFCON at the start of 2022.

Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino are fantastic players but they cannot carry Liverpool on their own for over a month.

A new centre-forward and another versatile wide player are needed this summer to ensure Klopp has all the options he needs.