Southampton: £17m 'artist' not a 'priority' for Hasenhuttl at St Mary's

Southampton‘s priority is not Liverpool attacker Takumi Minamino, says talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.

The Reds are thought to be open to selling the 27-year-old, who spent the second half of the 2020/21 season on loan at St Mary’s, but Crook does not believe he is at the top of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s list right now.

According to BBC Sport, Liverpool will listen to offers of £17m for Minamino this summer.

The same report states that Leeds United, Wolves, Fulham, Southampton and AS Monaco are all admirers of the Japanese player, so it looks like he could get the chance to remain in English football.

Minamino has never been a key player for Jurgen Klopp, with the German allowing him to leave Anfield for Southampton in 2021.

During that temporary spell at St Mary’s, he made 10 appearances and scored two goals.

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Crook thinks Minamino is more likely to join a club like Leeds rather than Southampton due to the Saints having other priorities at this moment of time.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the talkSPORT reporter said: “I think they [Leeds] seem more likely than Southampton. He did a decent job when he was there on loan but not somebody, as I understand it, that they’re looking to bring back this summer. Their priorities are elsewhere.”

Minamino is a player who could offer a lot to Southampton. He can play in multiple attacking positions and is a good fit for Hasenhuttl’s system because of his desire to try and win the ball back.

During the 2020/21 season, the Japan international ranked in the 90th percentile for successful pressures and the 93rd for pressures in the midfield third among his positional peers (via FBref). To put things simply, he is the sort of