Liverpool need a Wijnaldum replacement? Klopp doesn't think so

Deciding to not renew his contract, the Dutchman put an end to his five-year stay at Anfield earlier this summer.

Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool do not need to sign a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum and that he is more than content with his current midfield options.

Wijnaldum joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in the first week of June, committing to a three-year contract at the Parisian club.

His departure leaves a sizable hole in the Liverpool squad, considering he was central to success over the last few years.

The 30-year-old made 237 competitive appearances during his time at Anfield, helping the team to end their 30-year-long Premier League title drought as well as to Champions League glory in the process.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of the season opener against Norwich City, however, Klopp suggests he has enough resources at his disposal to fill the void created by Wijnaldum’s exit.

Go behind the scenes at the @AXA Training Centre, as we prepare for our opening day meeting with Norwich City on Saturday 👀 pic.twitter.com/rWsSucPJ8j
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 12, 2021

“If somebody wants to leave or leaves we have to think ‘do we have to replace them or not?’,” said the Reds boss, per Liverpool Echo.

“With Gini, it’s like that and, if you want, we have two players who are not ‘new’ but can make the next step in Harvey (Elliott) and Curtis (Jones), and Naby (Keita) can make the next step with an exceptional pre-season.

“We can’t just ignore that. He is an outstanding player who everyone wants to sign, probably. That’s our situation.

“Gini was a key player, absolutely. He was consistently available to play. You don’t have to hide the relationship with Gini, how much I loved his way of playing, how reliable he was as a player. But he’s not here anymore.

“You tell me, if you would sign a midfielder, tell me a name? We can count our midfielders and you tell me we need to replace Gini.

“Hendo and Thiago haven’t been involved in pre-season apart from a week, we played quite a few games with Milner, Naby Keita and Harvey, we have another midfield that played that was Oxlade, Fabinho, Curtis Jones.

“Different profiles, now you tell me which player we need? What should the player have? Should he score more goals than Gini? Should he defend better than Fab? Should he be more creative than Naby, Curtis, Ox, Harvey? What do you want?”