Liverpool coach Pepijn Lijnders is pleased with the impact of Takumi Minamino so far this term.

The attacker spent the second half of last season on loan at Southampton and has not yet received a chance to shine for Liverpool this term.

However, Lijnders and the rest of the coaching staff are appreciative of the hard work Minamino is putting into his training.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Carabao Cup clash with Norwich City, Lijnders said: "Taki had a really good pre-season and I think it was really important for him after going to Southampton [loan spell], which was a good decision at that time.

"He came back and had a complete, full pre-season with us training-wise. He made an impact in pre-season, we were really enthusiastic about him. Then he had a small issue, with the national team, but he's back now. He was not 100 per cent fit because he came back early, but now he is good to go and we are really happy that he's part of our team.

"Jürgen said, 'Wow, the amount of times Taki comes one-v-one against the goalkeeper.' I said, 'Yeah, it shows you don't need super, super speed to come one-v-one with the goalkeeper.' He is a very natural, intelligent mover.

"That's what we need; we needed it already in the last games. He has this good timing to move in behind, good combination play when the players are close to him.

"He only can become better. That's what we like, that's why we brought him in at that time – because we saw the potential, not the end product."