Liverpool great Graeme Souness has questioned the commitment of Gini Wijnaldum this season.
The Holland international’s contract at Anfield expires this summer with the club still unable to agree a new deal.
Souness said in his column for The Times: “Injuries have hurt Liverpool badly, but they have not played with the same intensity either. Some players have felt sorry for themselves.
“They have not responded as well as Jürgen Klopp would have expected or wanted them to. They felt it wasn’t their year and have meekly accepted that.
“They need to rebuild their midfield — it’s the catalyst for their pressing. People talk about the strikers, but a lot of their success was based on getting the ball back so quickly because of Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho putting a shift in.
“Wijnaldum is leaving for Barcelona and I’m not sure how I’d have reacted to a player who made it clear he was off, how that goes down in a dressing-room. The players may make a joke of it, but it also may not sit well with all of them.
“He’s not played with the same intensity this season, Henderson has been absent with injuries, Naby Keïta has not shown he can step up, Milner’s another year older, Fabinho’s often filled in at centre back and Thiago Alcântara has come into a team that’s been huffing and puffing.”
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