Return of the Prodigal Son?

Speculation mounts over Liverpool offering to rescue Gini Wijnaldum from his PSG nightmare. Fans are divided…

Over the weekend, social media began to pick up on rumours of Liverpool making a loan move for Gini Wijnaldum. By Monday, this had become the biggest talking point among fans, with polls and polar opposite views on our former midfielder, dominating fans’ Twitter feeds.

But is there any substance to the rumours?

Since his departure for Paris, frustration has rumbled on among some sections of LFC support over an ageing and injury prone midfield. Debate over whether he was worthy of once again donning the red of Liverpool, or if his legacy was forever tarnished and labelled “greedy” as he swapped a seemingly nailed on “dream move” to Barcelona for a lucrative deal at PSG, has never been far away.

So, as his time to date in France has been marred by poor performances and falling out of favour with PSG management, compounded by coming top of poll to determine the “biggest flop” of the Ligue 1 season, speculation over his future was bound to arise.

Fresh from the additions of Darwin Nuñez, Calvin Ramsay, and Fabio Carvalho, fan enthusiasm has grown for midfield additions.

While the quality of the current midfield has never been in real doubt for fans, the collective inconsistent fitness records is seen by many as the stumbling block in achieving true dominance over our rivals.

Wijnaldum is no spring chicken, but was near ever-present and dynamic during his time at Liverpool. Fan familiarity with this aspect of his game appears to be the driving force behind rumours of his return.

But there has been no comment from Gini’s camp. Furthermore, PSG are currently looking to replace the outgoing Mauricio Pochettino. Gini, a player who won pretty much all there was to win during his time in England, will no doubt believe he still has the ability to impress whoever comes in and regain his starting spot. Wijnaldum described his anger at being dropped ahead of THAT Barcelona game, and we all saw the response. This is a player who doesn’t want to appear a failure and will rise to a challenge. So, for now, it seems unlikely he will initiate a move away from the French capital. In any case, he previously cited the vitriol aimed at him by some claiming to be Liverpool fans as a reason for not renewing his contract at the club. No matter whether there is any truth in that claim, his departure left a bitter taste for some and certainly hasn’t improved opinion of his character. He will be well aware of that.

Numerous outlets are reporting that LFC insiders have described a loan move for Wijnaldum as “nonsense”. There is no reason to doubt this. Not because there is any apparent bad feeling on the club’s part, but at 32 he falls outside of the typical transfer target. A loan move for such a player doesn’t make a great deal of sense either. Liverpool have extended the contracts of Milner and Henderson in the last year, so they are covered for influential, experienced heads to guide the youth. Thiago too has won everything in the game and can offer that support. Gini, even while a popular figure among the players and coaching staff and a former member of the captain committee, he would be superfluous to requirements on that front.

Previously, it looked like he was on his way but now it looks increasingly likely that Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain will seek to remain at Liverpool and fight for his place. He struggled to break into the team last season, and was probably only guilty of trying too hard in his limited first team chances. Tyler Morton and Harvey Elliott too made great strides to establish themselves first team options last term. Liverpool’s midfield looks like it has a wide variety of options and greater resilience to injury problems than it has probably at any previous point under Klopp.

It looks like the club doesn’t need to make a move for a midfielder, despite fan desire for it to happen.

While I would welcome him back in a heartbeat, he no longer seems a necessity. He just seems an obvious solution to a problem that, while it generates a lot of debate, in reality, doesn’t exist.