Klopp decision may damage hopes of repeating "special" Liverpool achievement

Takumi Minamino's two-and-a-half year stay at Liverpool came to an end on Tuesday afternoon after he agreed to join Monaco on a permanent deal.

The Reds confirmed that the Japanese international has made the switch to the Ligue 1 side with the transfer believed to be in the region of £15million. He is the second player to depart the Reds this summer for a fee after Sadio Mane signed for Bayern Munich, while Divock Origi, Ben Woodburn and Loris Karius all left at the end their contracts.

Minamino joined Liverpool from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020 after the club activated the £7.25m release clause in his contract, making him the first Japanese player to play for the club. He would go on to score 14 times in 54 appearances for the Reds before his move to Monaco was announced.

However, Jurgen Klopp could be making a mistake by letting Minamino leave Anfield, with statistics proving how crucial he was to their success in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup last season.

Having spent the second-half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Southampton, Minamino returned to Liverpool needing to prove a point to Klopp that he still had a part to play at the club. Although his chances were fairly limited in the Premier League, there is no doubt Minamino took his opportunity with both hands in the domestic cup competitions.

He scored twice in their 3-0 win over Norwich City in the Third Round of the Carabao Cup back in September and followed that up by netting against Preston North End in the last-16. Arguably Minamino's most important moment in a Reds shirt came in injury-time against Leicester City, where he struck a dramatic late equaliser to take the game to penalties.

The former Cerezo Osaka attacker brought down James Milner's cross before drilling a half-volley past a despairing-looking Kasper Schmeichel. Minamino also grabbed an assist earlier in the game, setting up Diogo Jota who halved the deficit after Leicester led 3-1 at half-time.

Liverpool subsequently won the penalty shootout after the 3-3 draw in normal time and went on to win the Carabao Cup following their victory over Arsenal in the semi-final and win against Chelsea at Wembley. Minamino would feature in both legs of the success over the Gunners but was named as an unused substitute in the final.

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It was not the only cup competition he helped the Reds win last term with Minamino vital in their FA Cup success, having scored three goals on route to beating Chelsea once again at Wembley. He bagged twice in Liverpool's 2-1 Fifth Round win over Norwich City after scoring against Cardiff City.

Klopp described the achievement as "special" and there is no doubt Minamino was a huge part of winning both trophies. The Liverpool manager said: "That we won now both domestic cups, that really is special. That Trent Alexander-Arnold is the youngest player ever in this incredible history of the Premier League who won all six major trophies, at 23, the youngest.

"So many special stories. And after the [Chelsea] game I said to Thiago, if I would have known what a player you are, I would have signed you four years earlier. He said, 'You taught me running!' I take that, it's fine. He could obviously already play football pretty well but he learned running in Liverpool, that's fine.

"So many special stories, Jordan Henderson obviously and these kinds of things. It's really cool. James Milner, at a quite advanced age having such an impact on a football team."

In fact, Minamino was the Reds' top scorer in both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup - after netting seven in total. He also struck three times in 11 appearances in the league, and averaged a goal around every 100 minutes in all competitions last season - the best record out of any Liverpool player who hit double-figures.

Klopp could well be making a mistake by allow a player, who was so integral when they needed him in those competitions, to depart the club this summer. Liverpool played in every possible game last term (63) and needed people like Minamino to step in and contribute, especially in cup matches.

The Liverpool boss had never won those two trophies before and required them to complete the set, having won the Champions League in 2019 and Premier League the year after. The Reds could go on to play as many games next term, and with the World Cup falling midway through the season, his first choice players will arguably need more rest time and breaks in the cup games.

This is why Klopp could regret getting rid of the Japanese international with the Reds' summer incoming transfer business all but over following Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay's arrivals. With Mane and Origi also no longer at the club, Liverpool may have use the likes of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota more often - which could detriment their chances of keeping that consistency throughout like last season.