Sadio Mane is the example to follow for Liverpool's new boy.
Takumi Minamino finds himself in a strange position.
On one hand, his £7.25million transfer fee frees him from the expectation that accompanies a big-money transfer. On the other, he's been identified as the man to give Roberto Firmino that much-needed rest, and potentially the player who allows Mohamed Salah to be deployed centrally on a more permanent basis.
His price tag won't weigh him down but the hope - that he could be the fourth musketeer missing to an extent since Philippe Coutinho left - could be what ultimately slows his fledgeling Liverpool career.
But the former Red Bull Salzburg attacker has a lot going for him. Namely, the Premier League leaders don't miss when it comes to transfers. Since Jurgen Klopp's arrival, Liverpool are near-perfect in the market. A lot of work goes into identifying targets and the due diligence undertaken by the recruitment team at Anfield is why the reigning European champions currently sit comfortably clear at the summit of the English top-flight.
Michael Edwards, Ian Graham and the rest of the analytical team have their own unique database for analysing players. So while the real reasons behind Minamino's arrival won't ever be public knowledge, there are ways to build a profile that goes some way to explaining why he topped the club's wishlist.
To begin with, hiis versatility will have ticked a number of boxes. Adept at playing anywhere across the front, there's also enough evidence to suggest he could do a job as a box-to-box
midfielder in a Klopp system, too. He failed to get off the mark against Everton but there was more than enough in his performance to hint at him being the Firmino understudy in the long-term.
But what would have made the likes of Edwards and Graham take note of Minamino would've been his consistency. Granted, the standard of the Austrian league needs to be considered, but Red Bull Salzburg did give Liverpool and Napoli multiple issues in the Champions League.
Since the start of the 2018/19 season, the Japan international averaged 0.38 goals with an expected goals per 90 average of 0.34. These averages come from a sample size of close to 3000 minutes, meaning there's enough data there to really read into.
These statistics show two things. Firstly, he's a reliable goal threat but, perhaps more importantly, his output is sustainable. Minamino did not enjoy a hot streak; there wasn't a huge overperformance. He was getting into dangerous areas on a regular basis, a skill which is transferable.
Furthermore, the former Cerezo Osaka man isn't a player who relies on volume. Some footballers rely on the quantity, and not the quality, of efforts to be effective; Minaimino's 0.38 goals per 90 came from just 2.54 shots per 90. For context, during the 2018/19 campaign, Sadio Mane was averaging 2.53 shots with an expected goals total of 0.49.
In fact, Minamino and the Liverpool No.10 are eerily similar. All eyes have been on how he can replace Firmino and what impact his arrival might have on Salah, when in reality it's Mane who people should've been comparing the 24-year-old to.
The Senegalese star may now be one of the most feared forwards in world football, but this wasn't the case when he arrived on Merseyside back in 2016. Mane did hit double figures in both Premier League campaigns for the Saints, but he was far from prolific. Very few envisaged him claiming a Golden Boot award.
As the numbers in the graphic above show, Mane was a reliable goalscorer, not a remarkable one. He didn't rely on sheer volume for his goals and of his touches in the area, over 50% of them were shots. The newly-crowned African player of the year didn't dawdle when opportunities presented themselves to him. He was also fairly frugal with his attempted dribbles, too, with 80% of them coming in the final third of the pitch, per statistics from Football Whispers.
Remarkably, Mane's numbers at Southampton are almost identical to Minamino's at Red Bull Salzburg since the start of the 2018/19 season.
Not only do Liverpool forwards need to be genuine goal threats, regardless of whether they're consistently prolific, they also need to be creators. Prior to the switch to Anfield, Mane had an expected goals assisted average of 0.19. Salah was a little more creative, averaging 0.29 expected assists to go with his 0.39 expected goals.
Minamino's expected assists average is coming in at 0.25 per 90 to give him a combined expected goal contribution of 0.59. That is a good foundation to build on, just as Liverpool did with Mane and Salah. To snare him for a little over £7million is an exceptional piece of business.
Arsenal paid £75million for Nicolas Pepe and his open-play expected goal contribution per 90 for the previous two seasons was 0.43. The Reds were tentatively linked with a move for Federico Chiesa, with suggestions Fiorentina wanted £60million for the Italian winger, and his expected numbers showed him averaging 0.52 open-play goal involvements per 90.
Leon Bailey has been another rumoured Liverpool transfer target in the past, but the Bayer Leverkusen man averages just 0.29 expected goals and 0.20 expected assists; the Bundesliga side apparently wanted in excess of £50million for the former Genk man.
The trio may have played in better leagues but none of them could match Minamino's figure of 0.59. If Klopp and the coaches are able to improve Minaimino in the same way they helped evolve Salah and Mane into world class talents, then the Reds will have an elite prospect on their hands. All this for the same price as what Rangers paid to sign Ryan Kent.
The more you look into the Japan international, the more his signing looks like a masterstroke.