10 July 2023 , 07:00
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For quite some time, the midfield area has been viewed as Liverpool's main problem and the position Jurgen Klopp needs to strengthen.
Many feel as if these issues really came to the fore when Georginio Wijnaldum left the club in the summer of 2021. The Reds have since looked to address the problem this summer, signing both Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, but it remains to be seen if either can match what Wijnaldum brought both on and off the pitch.
The Netherlands international was one of the most respected voices within the Anfield dressing room during his half a decade on Merseyside. That much was made clear when Wijnaldum was instrumental in a 2-1 comeback victory against Tottenham back in 2020.
A late Roberto Firmino header handed the Reds all three points, but it was Wijnaldum who was singled out for praise by boss Klopp after the game for his pre-match dressing room outburst. "I think it was Gini in the dressing room before the Tottenham game. 'Don't let us waste the first half again!’, he was shouting."
That praise came at a time when Wijnaldum's future was up in the air as his Reds contract neared its expiration. He would go on to leave Liverpool on a free less than a year later for nothing, enticed by the bright lights of Paris Saint-Germain.
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It was a move that didn't really work out and after one campaign in the French capital he opted to join Serie A titans Roma on loan in the summer of 2022.
HAVE YOUR SAY! Was Wijnaldum wrong to not extend his stay at Liverpool? Comment below
Jurgen Klopp and Georginio Wijnaldum enjoyed a stellar relationship at Anfield (Getty Images)Shortly before his temporary stint in Rome, Wijnaldum seemed to hint that he regrets bidding farewell to Anfield after his debut season at PSG brought significantly reduced game time.
Speaking to Dutch outlet NOS in March of last year, Wijnaldum said: “I can’t say I’m completely happy, because the situation is not what I wanted.
"But that’s football and I’ll have to learn to deal with that. I’m a fighter. I have to stay positive and work hard to turn it around. I have played a lot in recent years, was always fit and also did very well. This is something different and that takes getting used to.
"I was really looking forward to the new step and then this happens. It is very difficult."
That feeling of regret seems to be reciprocated by Klopp, who confessed he misses Wijnaldum last year. "Even when we prepare for an opponent like Chelsea, we look at our games against Chelsea and see Gini running around there," he explained.
"We still have to get used to that. It is not only on the pitch we miss him but we really, really miss him in the dressing room as well."