Rangnick lauds Liverpool’s Minamino deal, but says Klopp ‘doesn’t have to thank me’

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Red Bull’s head of sport and development Ralf Rangnick, the former manager of Rb Leipzig, has praised Liverpool for the expected signing of Takumi Minamino.

The Japan international is likely to complete a £7.25m deal at the beginning of January, should he pass a medical – which the football world agrees is an extraordinary bargain for a player who this season has lit up the Champions League.

At 24-years-old, he’s coming into his prime, and Rangnick believes his attributes and football education make him completely perfect for Jurgen Klopp.

“The style is very similar to Jurgen’s,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s proactive, it’s high pressing, counter-pressing. Once we have won the ball we don’t want to waste any time by square passes or back passes.

“We are trying to play forward as quickly as possible, trying to create chances, trying to score as many goals as possible.

“It’s definitely no coincidence that he has four former players of mine (Roberto Firmino, Naby Keita, Sadio Mane and Joel Matip) because it shows that he is, in fact, looking for the same kind of players, with the same assets, with the same mentality as we do. And, I think, out of the top clubs in Europe, he’s probably the coach with the highest number of former players from us.”

“He doesn’t have to thank me!”

If Minamino works out half as good as Firmino, Mane or Matip we’ll be over the moon, with Keita now starting to show his undeniable class as well.

Liverpool fans were wowed by Minamino when we saw him at Anfield – and it appears the club’s hierarchy was as well.

It’s not often you watch a player you’ve never heard of, think, ‘We should sign that lad,’ and then the club actually does!

This is what makes the deal all the more exciting. Now, we just have to get it across the line and give Minamino time to settle.

It’s unlikely he’ll be heavily involved immediately.

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