Should have gone to Barca - Wijnaldum has been THE WORST Ligue 1 midfielder this season
Robin Bairner
- 22 Jan 2022 18:04 GMT
- 3 min read
Paris Saint-Germain thought they had completed a coup this summer when they signed Georginio Wijnaldum on a free transfer when it appeared he would instead head to Barcelona.
Despite possession plentiful options in the middle of the field, PSG added the Netherlands international to their squad on the back of strong performances for both Liverpool and the Netherlands.
He has been utterly unable to replicate these in France, leaving himself open to criticism while also indicating that he might favour a January switch back to the Premier League.
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Given his mediocre performance in France’s top flight, that might be best for everyone involved.
Just how poor Wijnaldum has been is perhaps best underlined by Twitter data analyst @louorns, who has created a graphic that shows the offensive and defensive performance of Ligue 1 central midfielders who have played at least 900 minutes of football this season.
Wijnaldum contributing nothing
While Arsenal target Bruno Guimaraes stands out as one of the most industrious and productive players in the league, on the flip side is Wijnaldum, who neither gets through a volume of defensive work nor contributes offensively.
Indeed, the visualisation shows that only two central midfield players in the whole league – Matteo Guendouzi at Marseille and Lens’ Seko Fofana – contribute less defensively. On the other hand, both of these players offer far more attacking output.
Equally, though, there are only two midfielders who do less to move the forward: Joris Chotard at Montpellier and Haris Belkebla of Brest. Both contribute far more defensively than the Dutchman.
While it is pointed out that Wijnaldum is effectively in the PSG team to provide a goal threat, it is worth noting that he only has one Ligue 1 goal to his credit, begging the question: just what are his club getting from him?
The answer is virtually nothing.
Wijnaldum’s move to PSG has proven a nightmare, leaving everyone involved doubtless wishing that he had instead gone to Barcelona.
