Some football fans may say he’s a little bit overrated. Others might even say the opposite, that he doesn’t get all the recognition for everything he does for the team. However, the fact is that Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum is one of Liverpool’s most important players.
For Liverpool fans’ happiness, the Dutch player is set to sign a new Liverpool contract, after a few months of talks between the parts.
Wijnaldum arrived at Liverpool in 2016, and since then, with consistent performances and a lot of versatility, the Dutchman has won over fans and the trust of Reds’ commander Jurgen Klopp. Thus, the Red side of Merseyside’s number 5 could step up and had a direct impact in Liverpool’s recent title, mainly that of the UEFA Champions League in the 2018-19 season.
The Holland international’s importance is mainly due to the brace scored against Barcelona in the second leg match of the quarterfinals at Anfield in the 4-0 win. In that game, Wijnaldum was introduced at half-time, when Liverpool was winning 1-0 and needed at least a 3-0 to take it to extra-time.
The Dutchman made an instant impact, as he scored twice in 10 minutes to equalize the aggregate scoring, as Divock Origi scored the winner after that cheeky Trent Alexander-Arnold corner.
His current contract goes until mid-2021, and current talks indicate that Gini Wijnaldum’s contract will be extended until 2024.
When asked about signing the new contract, Wijnaldum spoke out:
“What would I like? It is hard to say. It depends on what the club wants and how the situation will be at that moment. We will see. Anfield is like a home to me. I’m just focusing on making sure that this season has a good ending, it’s the only thing I’m thinking about.”
The happy ending Wijnaldum refers to is obviously the Premier League title, a competition the Reds have never won, even though they already have 18 League titles, but none of them were in the actual Premier League era, and I quite frankly hope it’s going to be this year.