No it is describing the realities of football.
The most technically gifted players in each age group tend to get played in the positions in which they can effect the game the most. That is usually an attacking role. Once you reach senior level then those same players are competing with much better players.
So unless you are an absolute freak then players positions tend to change. Usually that means wingers become full backs and strikers either drop deeper or wider.
That for me is what is happening with Taki. If he wants to play at Liverpool then it isn't going to be as a striker. We play with 3 forwards and he is currently 6th choice at best.
For me his best chance is to show his versatility. He has great technique and movement plus a great work ethic. Personally I think his best chance at Liverpool is as a creative 8/10.
I wonder how much game time the likes of Trent, Elliot, Neco, Origi and a whole host of others would have got if they only wanted to play in their natural position.
At Liverpool you could be excellent in your natural position but that means zilch if we have better options. Look at legends like Milner playing at left back or even Gerrard playing as wide player or as a 10 when they both wanted to play as a CM.
Personally I think Taki could be a real asset in a deeper role especially against low block teams. I think he has far more chance of nailing down a Coutinho-Lallana role than displacing the likes of Mo, Sadio, Bobby or Jota.
I don't think you're saying too much that's controversial here and I think people are more having an argument with you because you've been pretty down on Taki in the past than for the substance of what you're saying.
Clearly he's not going to be a Mo, Sadio or Jota. That just won't happen because pace and directness are two key qualities for those positions and he hasn't got them. There's a reason Origi got more appearances off the bench than he does, even last season when he was having a mare.
I agree that a deeper attacking midfielder type player is what he's best suited to. In fact, this is the position he played at Salzburg, so it's not even a change in position for him.
The issue for him is we haven't had a pure number 10 since Coutinho. The closest thing we've had is Lallana, and when he played a lot of games it was because he was technically and mentally excellent, yes, but also a freak of a presser and front line defender.
That I think is the key thing that's missing from Taki's game. He won't be a Hendo or a Gini '8' because I don't think he ticks enough boxes - not physically strong enough or positionally adept enough to play a big role defending in midfield. But could he learn to be more of the intelligent monster presser that Lallana was, and that Bobby still is as more of a pure attacker? Because I suspect that's the minimum requirement we're looking for in that position, when we choose to play a more attacking midfielder.
At the moment I don't think any of our more attacking midfielders quite play that role like Klopp would want it - and that's probably a reason why it's not a preferred part of our midfield setup. The closest thing we've got is actually Hendo this season, who still gets through a tonne of defensive work in addition to contributing a lot more in attack. Because I don't think Klopp's that keen to sacrifice any level of defensive responsibility from any of his midfielders.
Ox is probably the next closest and if he stays fit and gives us quite a bit going forward with his dribbling and drive. I can see Harvey growing into that role, for sure. Naby could probably do it too, but he'd have to stay fit.
Taki would offer something a little bit different to all of those. Something a bit closer to Lallana in that he'd be more of a player that creates the link for the final pass / shot. But he has to up the defensive side of his game before he gets trusted to do that regularly.
Decent article below from back when he first signed nearly 2 years ago now about how he played at Salzburg.
https://totalfootballanalysis.com/article/takumi-minamino-201920-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tacticsCrazy how many good players that Salzburg team had. Haaland, Minamino, Hwang, Szoboslai, Daka all in the same team. No wonder they gave us a run for our money.
