Liverpool legend John Barnes says his former side will cope without Georginio Wijnaldum next season, going so far as to say he “won’t be a big miss.”
The Dutchman will play his football for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 next season and with his contract at Anfield contract set to expire at the end of June, he is still a Liverpool star.
De Telegraaf claims that he will earn £160,000/week which is more than he was offered to stay at Anfield and while I’m happy Wijnaldum is being handsomely for what will be his final major contract, I think he will be a huge loss next season.
Barnes thinks Wijnaldum is replaceable
Speaking to BonusCodeBets he said, “Wijnaldum played well for the Netherlands in their opening match. He’s been a fantastic player for Liverpool, but he won’t be that big a miss for the club.
“Gini doesn’t win you matches, generally. The front three do, and the back four do.
“They’ll miss him but they’d miss Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez or Alisson more. He’s not Kevin De Bruyne or David Silva, he can be replaced.
“Gini is a hard-working midfield player, of which Liverpool have several. He didn’t play every week, and Liverpool have got Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Thiago and Fabinho – it’s not a position they should be concerned about.”
He’s the unsung hero and deserves more respect
I will be the first to admit that I have often overlooked the impact that Wijnaldum had while playing for Liverpool but there’s no point ignoring the value that he brought to the Reds and how much that will be missed.
His two-goal display against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final was a one-off but every game, without fail, he eased the pressure on the Reds with his careful use of the ball.
He might be replaceable but there’s no telling if the likes of Florian Neuhaus can come in and replicate his talents and if it was that easy, PSG would be signing the German and wouldn’t need to pay as much as £160,000/week.
Wijnaldum might not be the most prolific player but that’s more to do with his role in the side and you need only see how incredible he is for Holland to understand how good he really is.