Liverpool have officially welcomed Takumi Minamino to the club in a £7.25m deal.
It is rare in the modern market for such a low cost signing to garner such widespread enthusiasm amongst the fanbase, but it is the value behind the deal that makes this transfer swoop taste all the sweeter.
After all, this is a player with an incredibly impressive record at RB Salzburg and one who played with verve and tenacity against his new club in the Champions League earlier this season.
A return of 64 goals and 44 assists in 199 fixtures for the Austrian outfit underlines his attacking prowess, but those stats alone won’t buy him a place in Liverpool’s starting XI.
What is intriguing about the Japan international is his ability to deliver high quality performances from a variety of positions.
He has spent the majority of the current season playing on the right-wing but last season he was regularly deployed in a more central attacking midfield role – a position he regularly plays in for the Japanese national side. Transfermarkt also detail 42 appearances as a centre-forward during Minamino’s career.
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Only Jurgen Klopp will know where he envisages his new January signing slotting into the team in the long-term, but his versatility provides him with a conundrum to dissect.
The German boss need to work out where he feels most comfortable playing within the current system and mould him on the training ground accordingly.
Given Klopp’s tactical approach has been so relentlessly effective with wingers cutting inside onto their favoured foot, perhaps he will be at his incisive best from the left hand side.
Regardless of where the 24-year-old fits in, however, the 24-year-old brings a depth to the forward line that’s been missing from Klopp’s armoury in recent years.
It remains to be seen where the new signing will be deployed but the fact that uncertainty exists by virtue of Minamino’s deadly ability in a multitude of positions can only be a positive sign for the Premier League title chasers.
In other news, one of Liverpool’s star players is reportedly attracting interest from a European giant…