Taki Minamino has hit the ground running at Southampton following his January transfer deadline day loan move from Liverpool.
The Japanese scored on his debut with a beautiful goal v Newcastle, that showed Liverpool fans the quality we thought we’d see more of at Anfield following his January 2020 transfer from Rb Salzburg.
Shane Long, veteran Southampton star, has praised Taki for how well he’s settled in, which is nice to hear.
“He’s settled in fine. The last couple of days in training, he’s showed his quality,” Redmond told the Daily Echo
“He’s a really, really nice guy in terms of a human being as well. His quality was evident on Saturday with a great finish and we are going to need more of that.
“He provides competition in that he’s come here to play football.”
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhüttl has similarly lauded the 26-year-old and explained how he thinks Southampton will be a better side with him in it.
“He is a good guy, and you see immediately the quality he has on the ball. I think when he plays a proper game and helps us in every part of the game then we are more successful I think with him,” he said.
We hope to see Taki getting lots of starts and hopefully lots of goals and assists, too.
For us at EOTK, we’d have liked to see him get some more chances in January during our rough period, but from an individual perspective, the loan will benefit him.