Georginio Wijnaldum Liverpool 2018-19Getty Images

Wijnaldum welcomes Liverpool role change as Klopp embraces versatility

Georginio Wijnaldum believes a positional tweak at Liverpool has “gone quite well”, with the Dutchman happy to have dropped deeper in order to accommodate others.

The Netherlands international forged his reputation in a playmaking post, with it expected that he would provide creativity and a goal threat in any outings for club and country.

He has, however, been a versatile operator throughout his career, with every role apart from goalkeeper filled at some stage since moving through the youth ranks at Sparta Rotterdam and Feyenoord.

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Wijnaldum is now an established senior star in midfield, but is still being asked to adjust his game in a third season at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp is looking for the 28-year-old to be slightly less adventurous, with the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Xherdan Shaqiri alongside him, and those demands are being embraced by a player who has impressed in the 2018-19 campaign to date.

Wijnaldum told Liverpool’s official website of his role on Merseyside: “When I spoke to the manager here he said to me that we don’t really play with a No. 10, that we play with two No. 8s and that I would be one of the eights.

“But I think the manager got to know me way better during the first season. You train every day, you see each other every day.

“In the No. 6 position we had Jordan Henderson and Emre Can and Kevin Stewart, so we had a few players there.

“But in my second season he said: ‘I think you can play No. 6 also and we might use you there in some games, so be prepared'.

“So, during training I was playing there sometimes and during the pre-season games in Hong Kong I played there, but in actual games I only played there twice, against Manchester City and Everton I think.

“This season I’ve played there quite a lot and it’s gone quite well. I enjoy it.”

Gini Wijnaldum Liverpool 2018-Getty Images

Wijanldum is accustomed to having to fight to prove himself in certain positions, with a personal battle having been waged in his younger years to avoid being stuck out on the flanks.

He added: “People were trying to get me off thinking that I’m a midfielder, and trying to put in my head that I was a winger.

“There were loads of managers who said: ‘You have to concentrate on being a winger because you have more potential there'.

“But I was like: ‘You can say what you want, but I’m a midfielder and I know what’s the best for me'.

“So, I just focused on midfield, and look where I am today. I was full of confidence in myself that I would reach the top or be a professional player as a midfielder.”

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