Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold has been speaking about teammate Takumi Minamino following his loan spell at Southampton last season.
First team minutes have been hard to come by for the Japan international, who arrived at Anfield from RB Salzburg in 2020.
He went on to spend the second half on last season on loan at Southampton and he scored two goals in 10 appearances while on the south coast.
Ralph Hasenhuttl was keen to bring Minamino back to St Mary's for a second spell, as per Hampshire Live, but the 26-year-old remained at Liverpool in a bid to force himself into Jurgen Klopp's thinking.
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Despite making just two appearances so far, none of which have been in the league, Trent Alexander-Arnold believes Minamino is 'pushing for more minutes' this season.
"He's done really well in training in pre-season, he's been very good," the Liverpool right back told Tribal Football.
"When we first played against him a few years back in the Champions League, he showed how good he was.
"He probably would have been hoping for more minutes and more playing time and more opportunities but when you're at a world class club with world class players, it is difficult to fight your way through.
"Sometimes you have to go elsewhere to get your minutes in and prove yourself.
"That's what he did last year, he scored a few goals for Southampton and came back with game time under his belt.
"He's shown signs of pushing Bobby [Roberto Firmino], Diogo [Jota] and the attackers for a few more minutes this season."
Minamino has played the full 90 minutes on just one occasion, in the Reds' 3-0 victory over Southampton in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
He scored twice at Carrow Road, but has found himself largely restricted to the bench, apart from a 20 minute substitute appearance against Porto in the Champions League.
