You might be right about that, but on the other hand, he seems to be made of the same iron which was used to fabricate Milner: he simply never gets injured. If he follows Millies path, he surely has three-four years left without too many injury problems.
On the other hand, the current season is absolute madness, and as we have had and still have so many midfielders injured, the stress on his body is even worse than usual. So I get your point.
But surely, it has nothing to do with the ongoing stall in contract negotiations? That problem was already around before all that covid shite started.
Agree, Fitness concerns are the last thing the club would be considering when it comes to Gini (cue him now getting a hamstring injury of course). It wouldnāt make much sense to have signed Thiago if that was the case.
I had no problem with the Emre Can situation, and I have no issues with Gini. Would love for him to stay, but itās his choice as it should be.
He has been a key player for us for several years, and has earned the respect that fans should give. The Henderson - Gini pairing has been the fulcrum of our team in letting the others shine.
Itās all water under the bridge now, before the season started my opinion was that we should sell him if possible since he would not sign a new contract. Neither happend letās play hem as much as we can and we wish him well as he goes.
Who wouldāve said when he signed or after his first year or two that heād become this physical machine for us in midfield?
Since the summer of 2018, he matured completely I feel. Reacted brilliantly to us signing Keita, Fabinho and almost signing Fekir (something between a midfielder and a forward, but wouldāve possibly affected these positions).
I think him and Klopp dropped the idea of him being our creative force from midfield, it was not going to happen at such a high level like this one. Itās not the same to the Dutch league or national team.
Had a look last night, but his last assist came against PSG at home in 2018 and that was not even a proper assist, he won a penalty for Millie that day. You have to go back to April of 2018 when he had an assist for Ings.
More from The Athleticās piece from last week:
The statistics donāt really do justice to what Wijnaldum gives Liverpool. His expected assists of 0.03 per 90 minutes ranks him 79th out of 93 top-flight central midfielders since the start of last season (only including those who have played more than 500 minutes). Heās not a great ball progressor, either ā understandable given the importance of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Robertson to provide that from the wings ā with only 10 players making fewer forward passes than him per 90 minutes.
What is notable from the data, though, is how safe he is in possession. Wijnaldum loses the ball with just 12.9 per cent of his touches, which is the 10th lowest mark of all those considered. Heās a master at shielding the ball under pressure and picking the right pass. He reads the game so well and is adept at blocking passing lanes and covering for team-mates.
For me I like Gini as a no 6, he is so strong, quick and can recover well and holds is position, the only thing is that he takes too many touches but is playing well in that position.
Has been a good option there since he controlled the midfield in the second half of our superb 2-1 win at the Etihad in the CL. He really stepped up that night.
Imagine if he passed that sidewards
But what a performance tonight. Heās relentless and he can control the mid and read the game so well. Itāll be so amazing for players like Neco and Jones knowing they have Hendo and Gini behind their backs, they wonāt let them down and allows them to play freely. What a beautiful goal and celebration today to top it off.
āI already said in my previous interview, I donāt speak about my contract situation,ā he insisted.
āI speak about the games, the performance, football, and the club should speak about my contract.ā
āOf course thereās a connection, there was already a connection from the first moment that I came here. The supporters supported me a lot,ā he continued.
āBut like I said before, itās not for me to speak about my contract right now. Thatās something for the club to speak about.ā
Could mean he is still open for an improved offer or he wants the club to decide when they will announce his departure.
Stop spouting drivel please.
The club can not announce his departure until Gini has told them heās going which wonāt be until January (not long to wait).
Maybe itās not Barcelona who are the main contenders for his signature? I often joke about it but I donāt see why Juventus wouldnāt be in conversation with him. Top wages, Serie A title every season, Champions League elimination stages, playing week in, week outā¦ I think heās good enough for clubs like Bayern, Juventus or PSG because heās tactically strong enough and pretty adaptable. I do hope he signs the extension with Liverpool, as slim as that hope might be, because finding a suitable replacement for him might be very difficult because of his rare skill set.
