If Liverpool finalise a deal for Newcastle United midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, it would be their most intriguing move of the summer so far.
Every signing they've made to this point has a specific position, and it's fairly clear how and where they fit into manager Jurgen Klopp's plans. Goalkeeper Loris Karius is expected to soon replace incumbent Simon Mignolet; Joel Matip will start at centre-half; Ragnar Klavan will compete for a spot alongside Matip; Marko Grujic will challenge for a place in central midfield; and Sadio Mane will provide pace and thrust from the right flank.
Wijnaldum, who will undergo a medical exam on Friday ahead of a £23 million (plus add-ons) switch to Merseyside, is different. His role is much less clear-cut as he could potentially fill a number of positions. It will be interesting to see just how Klopp uses him.
The German usually favours either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation, or at least some variation of these basic set-ups. Occasionally he'll switch it up and play two strikers but more often than not, it's either three central midfielders and two support players, or vice versa. Wijnaldum could operate as a "box to box" player in a midfield three or in any of the three positions behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1.
Does Klopp have a specific role in mind for the Dutchman, or is it that the midfielder's versatility persuaded him to spend big on one of Newcastle's few shining lights last season? Given Liverpool's current circumstances, it may well be the latter. Having a player capable of performing at a high standard at several positions is extremely useful to a manager, particularly one in Klopp's current situation where he doesn't have enough fixtures to keep a large squad of international players happy.
Clubs with realistic Premier League and European trophy aspirations often need to have two top-level players for every position but Liverpool aren't in that situation right now. It might explain why Klopp targeted Wijnaldum having failed to strike a deal for another versatile attacking midfielder, Udinese 's Polish international Piotr Zielinski. Having an accomplished "utility man" certainly gives a manager options and can be like having three players in one.
A number of Liverpool's current squad should be concerned about the arrival of the former PSV Eindhoven captain as he is capable of taking the place of four or five of last year's "first choice" XI and will surely find a spot somewhere in Klopp's team.
Wijnaldum scored 11 goals for a terrible Newcastle side last season. It was an impressive haul, although some may argue the number is distorted somewhat by the four goals he bagged in one game against relegated Norwich City. The counter to that argument would be that a lot of other midfield players lined up against Norwich last season too, but none scored four in one game against them.
While it's perhaps worth mentioning too that all of his goals came at St James's Park, that isn't entirely surprising given Newcastle's struggles away from home and shouldn't really be cause for any undue concern from Liverpool supporters. Regardless of where he scored them and who he scored them against, Wijnaldum still scored more league goals last season than the likes of Dele Alli, Dmitri Payet, Mesut Ozil, Eden Hazard and Christian Eriksen, not to mention every single Liverpool player.
Considering it was his first season in England and he was playing in a struggling side who were ultimately relegated, 11 goals from midfield is certainly nothing to be sniffed at. Clearly Wijnaldum has an eye for goal and a knack of arriving in the penalty area from deeper positions.
That intuition is something Liverpool certainly needed to improve and they may have done so already if two impressive pre-season run outs for Grujic are any indication. A young Serbian midfielder, Grujic has netted in both games he has featured in so far and certainly looks an exciting prospect. If Wijnaldum is also added to the mix, Liverpool's goal output from midfield should certainly be boosted this season, which in turn should help relieve some of the pressure on the strikers.
With Mane on board and Wijnaldum expected to sign within days, Liverpool look to have added more goals to their team as well as more pace and power. In theory that should make them stronger next year -- assuming both settle in quickly and adapt to Klopp's methods, of course -- but there are never any guarantees.
Presumably Wijnaldum will be starting regularly as Klopp would not invested that kind of money to have him sit on the bench, but it will be interesting to see who makes way for him. The likes of Adam Lallana, James Milner, Jordan Henderson and others were favourites of Klopp last season but have a real fight on their hands to stay in the team now as competition for places is set to be fiercer than ever at Liverpool this season.
Every signing they've made to this point has a specific position, and it's fairly clear how and where they fit into manager Jurgen Klopp's plans. Goalkeeper Loris Karius is expected to soon replace incumbent Simon Mignolet; Joel Matip will start at centre-half; Ragnar Klavan will compete for a spot alongside Matip; Marko Grujic will challenge for a place in central midfield; and Sadio Mane will provide pace and thrust from the right flank.
Wijnaldum, who will undergo a medical exam on Friday ahead of a £23 million (plus add-ons) switch to Merseyside, is different. His role is much less clear-cut as he could potentially fill a number of positions. It will be interesting to see just how Klopp uses him.
The German usually favours either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation, or at least some variation of these basic set-ups. Occasionally he'll switch it up and play two strikers but more often than not, it's either three central midfielders and two support players, or vice versa. Wijnaldum could operate as a "box to box" player in a midfield three or in any of the three positions behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1.
Does Klopp have a specific role in mind for the Dutchman, or is it that the midfielder's versatility persuaded him to spend big on one of Newcastle's few shining lights last season? Given Liverpool's current circumstances, it may well be the latter. Having a player capable of performing at a high standard at several positions is extremely useful to a manager, particularly one in Klopp's current situation where he doesn't have enough fixtures to keep a large squad of international players happy.
Clubs with realistic Premier League and European trophy aspirations often need to have two top-level players for every position but Liverpool aren't in that situation right now. It might explain why Klopp targeted Wijnaldum having failed to strike a deal for another versatile attacking midfielder, Udinese 's Polish international Piotr Zielinski. Having an accomplished "utility man" certainly gives a manager options and can be like having three players in one.
A number of Liverpool's current squad should be concerned about the arrival of the former PSV Eindhoven captain as he is capable of taking the place of four or five of last year's "first choice" XI and will surely find a spot somewhere in Klopp's team.
Wijnaldum scored 11 goals for a terrible Newcastle side last season. It was an impressive haul, although some may argue the number is distorted somewhat by the four goals he bagged in one game against relegated Norwich City. The counter to that argument would be that a lot of other midfield players lined up against Norwich last season too, but none scored four in one game against them.
While it's perhaps worth mentioning too that all of his goals came at St James's Park, that isn't entirely surprising given Newcastle's struggles away from home and shouldn't really be cause for any undue concern from Liverpool supporters. Regardless of where he scored them and who he scored them against, Wijnaldum still scored more league goals last season than the likes of Dele Alli, Dmitri Payet, Mesut Ozil, Eden Hazard and Christian Eriksen, not to mention every single Liverpool player.
Considering it was his first season in England and he was playing in a struggling side who were ultimately relegated, 11 goals from midfield is certainly nothing to be sniffed at. Clearly Wijnaldum has an eye for goal and a knack of arriving in the penalty area from deeper positions.
That intuition is something Liverpool certainly needed to improve and they may have done so already if two impressive pre-season run outs for Grujic are any indication. A young Serbian midfielder, Grujic has netted in both games he has featured in so far and certainly looks an exciting prospect. If Wijnaldum is also added to the mix, Liverpool's goal output from midfield should certainly be boosted this season, which in turn should help relieve some of the pressure on the strikers.
With Mane on board and Wijnaldum expected to sign within days, Liverpool look to have added more goals to their team as well as more pace and power. In theory that should make them stronger next year -- assuming both settle in quickly and adapt to Klopp's methods, of course -- but there are never any guarantees.
Presumably Wijnaldum will be starting regularly as Klopp would not invested that kind of money to have him sit on the bench, but it will be interesting to see who makes way for him. The likes of Adam Lallana, James Milner, Jordan Henderson and others were favourites of Klopp last season but have a real fight on their hands to stay in the team now as competition for places is set to be fiercer than ever at Liverpool this season.
