Nigel de Jong told ITV that the recently departed Liverpool player, Gini Wijnaldum, is ‘one of the most underrated’ players in the world.
On Monday, Wijnaldum scored a brace as Holland recorded a 3-0 win over North Macedonia in their final group game of Euro 2020.
That’s three wins out of three for the Dutch, with Wijnaldum showcasing the goalscoring skills that weren’t on show during his time at Liverpool because he used to play a more defensive role.
But one thing Liverpool fans will agree on is De Jong’s claims about Wijnaldum as a player.
“He is always on the move,” said De Jong. “He is always looking for that ball to drop somewhere in that area. And that’s what makes him so special.
“I think talking about an underrated player. I think Gini Wijnaldum is up there to be one of the most underrated players when it comes down to his worth ethic and his quality-wise looking always for the goal.
“You can see that, with Virgil van Dijk missing out, he’s the next man to step up for that team.
“He shows that by leading by example. We have seen that (against North Macedonia). Three goals in the group stages of a tournament is something you can be proud of.”
It will be interesting to see what type of role Wijnaldum deploys at PSG because he certainly has the goalscoring intelligence to get into double figures for the French giants.
At Liverpool, he was asked to build up attacks, protect the ball and allow the likes of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold to express themselves out wide.
But when the versatile midfielder is allowed the freedom to show attacking intent without the ball, then as he has shown at the Euro’s, he can bang in the goals.
At this moment in time, he is the joint top-scorer at the tournament, alongside the likes of Romelu Lukaku.
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