Klopp still hopeful Wijnaldum will sign new Liverpool deal

The Dutchman is into the final year of the deal he signed following his 2016 arrival from Newcastle United and will be free to talk to other clubs from January.

Barcelona were credited with an interest over the summer – their coach Ronald Koeman having worked successfully with Wijnaldum during his stint as Netherlands boss.

However, after seeing the former PSV midfielder score a beautiful curler as Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners against Wolves on Sunday, Klopp revealed that he has not given up on the idea of keeping the player at Anfield.

Asked about that prospect, the German told Amazon Prime Sport: “I hope so, to be honest.

“You can see that he plays all the time, he plays pretty long when he’s on the pitch, all this kind of stuff. We have a very good relationship. I hope so.”

88.5% – Of Georginio Wijnaldum’s 26 Premier League goals, 23 have come at home (88.5%), the highest ratio scored on home soil of any player with 20+ goals in the competition’s history. Lockdown. pic.twitter.com/iuGwdfYqOi

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 6, 2020

Wijnaldum has scored 26 Premier League goals in total since his move to Newcastle in 2015, with 23 of these coming at home.

That equates to a percentage of 88.5 – the highest ratio scored on home soil of any player with 20 or more goals in the history of the competition.

When asked about any potential talks over a new deal, Wijnaldum told Amazon Prime Sport: “I already said in my previous interviews, I don’t speak about my contract situation, I speak about the games, performances, football.

“The club should speak about my contract.”

Liverpool’s win took them level on points with Tottenham at the top of the Premier League, with Jose Mourinho’s side having defeated Arsenal 2-0 earlier on Sunday (December 6).

The champions have, who were playing in front of a crowd for the first time since March as 2,000 fans were allowed to attend following the easing of lockdown restrictions in Liverpool, won 31 of their last 32 home league games, drawing the other and scoring 93 goals while conceding just 25 in a remarkable run.

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