A lot was expected of Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum when he signed for Liverpool in the summer. He left relegated club Newcastle to sign for Liverpool in a move that would see Newcastle receive an initial fee of £25 million.
He is a player that Klopp has been aware of since the Dutchman was playing in Holland and it didn’t take him long to be won over by Klopp.
“Before we even had a conversation, he asked me: ‘Why were you sitting on the bench last season?’ because I had two games I was on the bench last season,” Wijnaldum told Sky Sports.
“I explained to him and said: ‘OK we can now have a conversation.’ We talked about football and how he wants to play, how he sees me in his team.
“And also that he can make me a much better player because he said: ‘You can develop much more than you have now.’
“I also had it in my head that I can be much better than right now and I had a feeling that he was the right man to help me with that.”
And Klopp has stuck by his word, making Wijnaldum a regular in a Liverpool team that is looking very impressive in the league right now.
Tottenham are one of Liverpool’s biggest threats in the League this season, and they also have a graduate of the Eredivisie in their ranks.
After a mixed start to life at White Hart Lane, Christian Eriksen has become a key player under Pochettino. Last season he contributed 21 goals to the Tottenham team, assisting 14 and scoring 7.
He hasn’t had the best of starts to this season, as the whole Tottenham attack has failed to really click so far. However, if you look at the two players head to head, you’d have to say that it is the Tottenham midfielder that is leading the way.
GRAPHIC: Georginio Wijnaldum vs Christian Eriksen https://t.co/dPQMMBPbNi #EFLCup #LIVTOT pic.twitter.com/mxo6OKvyT4
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) October 25, 2016
He is ahead of Wijnaldum on assists, Tackles, interceptions, Shots, Key Passes, Dribbles and number of passes. However, the Dutchman is ahead with a more impressive pass completion rate (86.6%).
Both players will be really important to their teams as they look to challenge for the Premier League this season. And on this evidence, Wijnaldum has some improving to do if he is to better his Tottenham counterpart.
However, as Jurgen Klopp said when he first met him, he thinks he will be able to develop him as a player. So whilst Eriksen may be leading the way in most areas at the moment, this is perhaps one we need to revisit at the end of the season once Klopp has had more time with his player.
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