Former Liverpool flop is competing with Kylian Mbappe after stunning career turnaround

Former Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino has found his feet in France at Monaco and has turned his career around a year after leaving Anfield.

Minamino, 28, was signed from RB Salzburg in January 2020 for £7.25m but failed to break into the first-team on a regular basis. However, it was nigh-on-impossible to do so with Jurgen Klopp boasting an attacking frontline of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino for the majority of his time at the club.

The Japanese international was restricted to being a squad rotation player, but he did have his moments. But, ultimately 14 goals in 55 games and limited opportunities saw him seek out a move away to France, as he signed for Monaco in a deal worth £15.4m - a deal that represented a great business move for the club.

Since then, Minamino has found his feet in Ligue 1. Last season was a transition period for him as he only started 10 games in the league. However, this year he has hit the ground running and has produced five goals and four assists in 13 games and those numbers are up there with the very best in the league.

That means he sits behind only Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe for goal contributions this season. Granted, Mbappe is far out and ahead with 15 goals and two assists, but Minamino is second for producing and contributing to goals.

As a result, Monaco sit third in the table behind Nice and PSG with 27 points. They sit two behind second place and six off the reigning champions - and they've scored the second highest amount of goals in the league to date. The target is finish as high as possible, as only the top two teams qualify for the Champions League group stages, with third place heading into the qualifying round.

Despite that, it is great to see the former Red performing at such a high level as he looks to make good on the potential he showed in Austria at Salzburg. He managed 64 goals and 43 assists in 199 games there and now, it looks like he has finally found his feet in one of Europe's biggest leagues.