RB Salzburg boss admits transfer mistake selling Takumi Minamino for cheap

Salzburg boss Jesse Marsch reckons Liverpool got themselves a bargain with Takumi Minamino, saying the forward was sold for "way too cheap".

Minamino joined Liverpool from Salzburg for just £7.25million in January after the Reds triggered the Japan international's release clause.

So far he's made eight appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, featuring in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp monitored Minamino, 25, for quite some time before snapping him up to make certain the forward would suit his style of play.

And Marsch believes Klopp got himself something of a bargain with Minamino.

"The thing that hurt with Taki is that Liverpool got him way, way, way too cheap. But this is part of managing the market and managing player contracts," Marsch told Liverpool Echo's Blood Red podcast.

"We always have here, with the scouting team and the sports director, they do an amazing job, and we always have the next generation of players here and ready to take the next step."

Minamino has some serious competition for a place in the Liverpool first team what with Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino all ahead of him.

But Marsch, who coached Minamino at Salzburg, is confident the Japanese star will eventually stake his claim for a place in Klopp's starting XI.

"What you have right now at Liverpool is some of the best players in the world in this position. Taki is still young and he will need to adapt," he added.

"He is not a purely explosive player like Sadio Mane or Mohamed Salah - he has physical qualities, but he is a really intelligent footballer. It may take time for everyone to fully appreciate his qualities, but it will come.

"We've seen it here - his ability to understand tactical systems, his ability to find attacking moments, be good around the goal, it's all good.

"It may take a little bit of time but eventually it will come together for him."

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