Liverpool journalist Paul Gorst has been sharing his thoughts on Reds midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum and his current situation at the Merseyside club.
This comes after Gorst recently made an appearance on the latest episode of the Liverpool Echo’s Blood Red Podcast where he spoke about a number of topics concerning Jurgen Klopp’s side.
On the subject of Wijnaldum, whose contract at Anfield runs out at the end of June, Gorst had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I think personally, I have a hunch that it’s a case of with Wijnaldum being on the same contract that he signed so long ago, if he wants a new one, what he could feasibly be entitled to ask for could even be a little bit too much to what Liverpool are able to afford at the moment because obviously, we know that they’ve had financial issues like most football clubs over the last year and they’ve added [Diogo] Jota and Thiago [Alcantara] to that wage bill which was already one of the biggest in world football so could that be an issue?
“I think that possibly could form a bit of what the contract situation is, but I just think it’s looking increasingly likely that Wijnaldum is sadly going to leave this summer on a free transfer.”
Liverpool signed the midfield man back in the 2016 summer transfer window from fellow Premier League side Newcastle United for a fee of £24.75 million.
Since then, the 30-year-old, who is currently valued at £36 million, has made 210 appearances for the Reds in which he has managed to score 20 goals and provide 16 assists along the way (per Transfermarkt).
TIF Thoughts on Paul Gorst’s comments on Wijnaldum…
With Wijnaldum having made 17 appearances in the Premier League so far this season, this shows that he is a very important player for Klopp, despite not yet signing a new deal at the club.
Would you be disappointed if Wijnaldum left Liverpool on a free transfer this summer?
Yes
No
However, with the Dutchman only earning himself a fairly uninspiring season rating of 6.66/10 for his league performances, this suggests that he hasn’t been in the best form so far which could suggest that he wouldn’t be a big miss for the club if he were to leave in summer.
In our view, if Wijnaldum wants to leave Liverpool in the summer, the club should respect his decision as long as he puts his full effort in for the team while he’s still there.