Andrew Beasley has suggested that, should Gini Wijnaldum not extend his contract with the club, the Reds could move for former Manchester City man Seko Fofana, as reported in the Echo.
The Lens player’s stats bear a remarkable likeness to our Dutchman’s ability to resist and engage in pressing, according to stats gathered by the Liverpool journalist.
“The analysis website smarterscout uses statistical profiles to find one player who is similar to another,” Beasley wrote. “If you’re looking for somebody in one of Europe’s big five leagues who is under 27-years-old, played at least 1,500 minutes last season, and is statistically similar to Wijnaldum, then Fofana is their only hit.”
Considering Wijnaldum’s value to Jurgen Klopp’s side, it would make a certain amount of sense for the club to have a contingency plan in place, should the midfielder leave at the end of the season.
Of course, we should not kid ourselves into thinking that the Dutch international will be so easily replaced, or that the Fofana link is more than a rumour.
Having missed only 11 games (yes, really) in the last five Premier League seasons, and starting all but one league game this season, the No.5 has been consistently available to be called upon – a trait that is surprisingly hard to come by.
We’d be curious to see if the club do find any similarities between the players on their own, but we don’t want to rule out Wijnaldum staying with us for a little while longer.