Player Profiles – Georgino Wijnaldum

At sixteen years old Gini Wijnaldum was Feyenoord’s youngest ever player when he made his debut for them towards the end of the 2006/07 season. A product of their youth system, he remained there until 2011 when he was transferred to PSV Eindhoven, where he was a consistent performer getting goals and assists from midfield. Only in 2013-14 when Gini regularly was out with a back problem did he fail to reach double figures.

A £14.5 million transfer to Newcastle took place in the summer of 2015 after Wijnaldum had helped PSV to the Eredivisie title. He scored eleven goals from midfield but was unable to prevent Newcastle from being relegated. Two of those goals were against Liverpool in December 2015 and seemed to make a lasting impression on Klopp. Wijnaldum covers a lot of ground, wins possession, is quick, dangerous running from deep into the box and good in the air. Gini was a regular in his first two seasons at Liverpool, although as at Newcastle continued to find the net at home but not away. This was quite possibly down to him adopting a more defensive role in away games. After scoring in Roma in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final in May 2018, Gini finally got a Premiership away goal against Tottenham at Wembley on 15 September 2018.