Garth Crooks says he was surprised that Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum stayed at the club following Barcelona’s interest in the summer.

The Dutchman was named in the BBC pundit’s ‘Team of The Week’ following the Reds’ 3-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday and Crooks thinks manager Jurgen Klopp would have been happy to keep the midfielder considering what he gives the team:

“I’m surprised this lad is still at Anfield. At one point I was almost certain that fellow Dutchman Ronald Koeman was going to take Wijnaldum to Barcelona. It made sense, of course. Wijnaldum is perfect for the Spanish giants but Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp didn’t even dignify the rumours with a response and it wasn’t long before it was clear that Wijnaldum was going nowhere.”

“For me, the Netherlands international is a coach’s dream. He works his socks off in every game and, in the absence of Jordan Henderson, is the player who links the back four to the front three.”

Wijnaldum has always been a key player for Klopp but with so many injuries in midfield, he has become indispensable in recent weeks. The vast majority of supporters would like to see the club hand the 30-year-old a new contract but, with every passing week, that looks more and more unlikely.

As things stand, the Netherlands international will be able to speak to foreign clubs about signing a pre-contract agreement in just over a month’s time. A free transfer at the end of the season appears inevitable at the moment.