Klopp's "perfect midfielder" has transfer deal snubbed after Liverpool admission

21 August 2023 , 09:28

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Klopp's "perfect midfielder" has transfer deal snubbed after Liverpool admission

Georginio Wijnaldum has offered to terminate his Paris Saint-Germain contract – but the French club have refused and are demanding a transfer fee for the former Liverpool midfielder.

The Dutch international midfielder left Anfield as a free agent after his contract at the club expired in the summer of 2021, before joining the Ligue 1 club, but his spell in the French capital was described as a 'nightmare' and he subsequently went on loan to Roma, enduring an injury-hit campaign.

Wijnaldum's exit from Anfield has not gone as planned and he even admitted during his season in the French capital that he was not "completely happy" in Ligue 1 following his transfer. Wijnaldum struggled to adapt to PSG and a local media outlet even harshly labelled him as the 'Ligue 1 Flop of the Year'.

The midfield ace was forced to sit out six months of the campaign at Roma after suffering a tibia fracture in training and he has now returned to the Parc des Princes. However, with no prospect of first-team football this season – he is trying to force an exit.

Wijnaldum is currently training away from the first-team squad in the France capital and a report in L'Equipe details how he is trying to force his exit from the club, but PSG are holding out and want any prospective buyer to cough up a £5million transfer fee for the player.

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Jurgen Klopp said of Wijnaldum during his time at Anfield: "It is not my fault if he goes under the radar. Gini speaks on the pitch with the way he plays. He is the perfect midfielder. He has all the things you need: both directions, small spaces, big spaces, hard challenges, fine football, all of that. Gini is a good personality in the dressing room. He is not the guy who says yes to everything."

Have Your Say! Did Wijnaldum make a mistake by leaving Liverpool for PSG two years ago? Tell us what you think here.

Wijnaldum left Anfield in the summer of 2021 (Getty Images)

Wijnaldum joined Liverpool in the first summer transfer window under Klopp – signed from Newcastle, who had just been relegated – and he became an instrumental member of the first team, making a total of 237 appearances for the Reds across five seasons – in which he bagged 22 goals.

Wijnaldum later responded to that strong admiration by claiming: "It's always difficult to say what is the perfect midfielder. I think at Liverpool my style fit good with the style of play so maybe for Liverpool, I was [the perfect midfielder].

"I can understand that for other teams it will be difficult to be the perfect midfielder because they play in another type of football and another system. I think everyone will have their opinion over what the perfect midfielder is, of course, if a manager like Klopp says you are then you will be incredibly happy."

Klopp has subsequently confessed that he still "misses" Wijnaldum. "Even when we prepare for an opponent like Chelsea, we look at our games against Chelsea and see Gini running around there," he added. "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."

Colin Millar