Allen left Liverpool to join Stoke City this summer, while Wijnaldum left Newcastle United to move to Anfield.
It is fair to say that this summer was a busy one for Liverpool as a number of players arrived and departed the club.
One of those to head to pastures new was Joe Allen when he completed a move to Stoke City.
The midfielder had found himself down the pecking order at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp, who had preferred several players ahead of him last season.
While he left Merseyside, one man to arrive was midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, with the Reds paying big money to secure him from Newcastle United.
The Dutchman has so far proved to be a smart signing, forming a strong central midfield partnership alongside captain Jordan Henderson.
But has he managed to outperform Allen and justify Klopp’s decision to swap the two midfielders? Here is what the stats say:
The Welshman has been the better defensively, winning more tackles per game and more interceptions per game than Wijnaldum.
He has also posted more ball recoveries per game, 6.86 compared to the Dutchman’s scored of 6.43. The two are level in terms of winning the ball back in the midfield third.
Wijnaldum has however been much better in an attacking sense, coming out on top in all four areas looked at.
So far he has posted more accurate passes per game, more key passes per game and enjoyed a 10% better passing accuracy.
He has also registered double as many shots on target per game than Allen has managed for Stoke so far.
A win in four key areas for Wijnaldum then, with these stats suggesting that Liverpool were wise to let Allen go to bring him in this summer.
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