Jurgen Klopp has claimed that Georginio Wijnaldum’s ability to switch mindsets has made him an important member of the team.
Wijnaldum has started all three of our Premier League clashes this season and was one of the best players in our win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
OptaJoe backed that up by adding that Wijnaldum only misplaced one pass in Liverpool‘s 1-0 win over the Seagulls.
1 – Georginio Wijnaldum misplaced just one of his 76 passes for Liverpool vs Brighton, this coming in the 80th minute of the match. Controlled.
(green: successful pass, yellow: key pass, red: unsuccessful pass) pic.twitter.com/mnuX7hezB2
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 25, 2018
Klopp was quoted by the Mirror as he added that the Dutch midfielder can play well in a couple of positions for the side.
“Gini can switch from one mindset to the other and that is pretty good for us.
“If you ask me he was brilliant in pre-season as the eight. He was good as the six but brilliant as the eight.”
The German went on to explain that the Dutchman’s mindset of calming down and being “reasonable” on the pitch is important to the team’s overall success.
“It was always clear he would be in the mix for the six position. He has worked hard and plays it very well. He’s a good footballer, but it is important that you have the kind of mindset that you can cool yourself down in different situations.
“(In that role) it’s important you don’t follow the ball or offer runs in behind when we have enough players to do that. We need a few reasonable persons on the pitch, if you want, and Gini has shown he can switch between both.”
Liverpool bought Naby Keita and Fabinho this summer while we have James Milner and Jordan Henderson as the other options for the midfield.
Read more: Alisson responds to Klopp’s concern over his dangerous dribbling with the ball
Even with all the talent at our disposal, Wijnaldum has been our most consistent player and seems to be undroppable based on his current form.
