Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ENGLAND ON THIN ICE FOR NATIONS LEAGUE
GARETH SOUTHGATE faces an anxious wait to see whether England’s Nations League plans will be plunged into chaos.
The players will report to St George’s Park today and undergo coronavirus tests,
JURGEN KLOPP believes Takumi Minamino is ready to make a huge impact for Liverpool this season.
The Japan winger joined Liverpool from Red Bull
Salzburg in a bargain £7.25million deal in January and found himself settling into a new country and club during a global pandemic. Liverpool boss Klopp believes Minamino has all the attributes to make a mark this term and he certainly showed his class with his first goal for the club at Wembley on Saturday. Inevitably, Minamino, who came off the bench in the 59th minute, will be seen as the support act for Liverpool’s front three of Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane but he still looks ready to step up. Klopp said: “We have a good team and it is difficult to come into it. But he is a player who is really useful for us. “It was not only the goal that impressed me. In small spaces he was really good. His first touch was exceptional, and his decision-making between the lines really great. That helps as well. So he can be a real player for us.
“He came here in the most difficult period of all our lives, I would say. Being alone in England in the lockdown, he has had to adapt to different things. That could not have been easy. But he did really well as he is a super professional so I am really pleased for him that he could score. It is another big step for him.”
Klopp believes that Minamino’s first goal for the club could represent a major turning point in his first-team fortunes.
He said: “He can have an impact. That’s why we signed him. But after one or two good pre-season performances I don’t want to put massive pressure on his shoulders. There’s no need for that.
“It was big for him and for us. The only thing missing since he was with us was a goal, even though he went close several times. But the shape he’s in is obviously good and everyone could see that when he came on.
“The goal is more or less the logical step up after performing at the level he performs now, especially in the pre-season. I am very pleased for him. It was very important for to stay in the game and for him to make his first important step.”