Five-year Gini Wijnaldum sacrifice could cost him his move – RTK view

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Gini Wijnaldum still doesn’t have an announced move for next season. It’s starting to look as though a five-year sacrifice is coming back to bite him.

Gini Wijnaldum is free to move wherever he wants this summer. His contract with Liverpool expires and he can agree to a deal with someone else.

But he’s been able to do that since January 1st, as long as that move was outside of England. Yet, we still don’t have confirmation of where he’s off to.

There is, per the Mirror, an offer from Liverpool on the table. Wijnaldum won’t accept it, though, as he doesn’t like the terms. He wants more money and a longer contract, says the Athletic.

And that’s fair enough. The Athletic’s article explains how the Reds don’t want to pay lots of money to players over 30. That suggests it isn’t an elite contract on the table.

But Wijnaldum is an elite player. He’s played a key role throughout Liverpool’s most-successful period in decades. And as we wrote a year ago, he’s become one of the world’s best box-to-box players.

What Liverpool really like with Wijnaldum, though, is his disciplined, ‘safe’ style. They can count on him to cover full-backs, to maintain possession remarkably well and to limit the risks he takes.

Unfortunately for Wijnaldum, that might be what’s costing him his big move.

Gini Wijnaldum on the move?

Wijnaldum is actually a far more aggressive and creative player than he looks in Red. Liverpool just ask him to limit his game.

The Dutchman had 11 Premier League goals for a relegated Newcastle United team the year before he joined Liverpool. He has 16 in five years with the Reds.

Wijnaldum also has 15 goals in his last 37 games for the Netherlands. In 2019, he scored eight goals in nine games for his national side – he’s a completely different player.

In fact, Liverpool have called upon that side of Wijnaldum themselves, only very rarely. Jurgen Klopp threw him on at half-time against Barcelona two years ago, needing him to help claw back a three-goal defecit.

Wijnaldum scored twice in a few minutes to put Liverpool on their way.

But that’s not the reputation Wijnaldum has. He’s not an attacking midfielder who scores and assists, nor is he an impenetrable defensive shield.

He’s a safe player who holds down a role in Liverpool’s disciplined midfield. That’s not a reputation that gets you the big contract.

Maybe we’re not giving other clubs enough credit. Maybe they know exactly what Wijnaldum is. But as he still looks for a contract and as his agent literally pleads with clubs to offer one, this is the only real reason we can think of for why the search is proving difficult.

Wijnaldum is undoubtedly an elite player with a proven record of delivering the biggest trophies. But his five-year sacrifice for the good of the team may cost him his big payday.