Georginio Wijnaldum - Scout Report

With the ball, Wijnaldum loves to run at defenders. What makes him very dangerous is his ability to cut inside, or go outside with equal ease. The fact that he stays quite close to his full back in attack tends to confuse defenders, leaving him with time on the ball. However, he loves to go outside and attempt crosses a lot more. When he does cut inside, he shoots more often than he passes. This is a major weakness of his, as it stymies build up play, and cuts it off at crucial points. His reluctance to play through passes also stretches build up play to longer than optimum on many occasions, and denies his forwards goal scoring opportunities, while simultaneously reducing retention options.

As far as his skills on the ball go, he, like all Dutch players, possesses impeccable technique. An excellent dribbler, Wijnaldum sets himself apart with his change of direction on the ball, and the speed at which he can do so. This is a trick that most defenders find hard to handle, as it leaves them in the wrong position to win the ball. This invariably leads to a foul, or a successful dribble (unless he attempts to execute the move a little too early).

A move that he favours a lot is the cut-inside, followed by the shot. This means that a large number of his shots are from outside the box. Therefore, he needs to ensure that his shot is powerful enough to beat the keeper from a distance. Swerve and movement of the ball in the air is a bonus. Wijnaldum moves the ball viciously, but often misses power. If he can make his shots harder, and keep the swerve, he will be a dangerous proposition (such ability requires defenders to push up and close down, leaving space in behind them).

Mentally, Wijnaldum seems like a mature person. It would have been very easy for a youngster at Rotterdam to let the attention get to him and move to a bigger club, but Wijnaldum made a brave decision to stick around in the Eredivisie, and this move has only accelerated his development. If one can raise question marks about his temperament, it would be with respect to his attitude towards tracking back. He often goes missing in the defensive phase of the game, leaving his full back a little short-handed.

Transfer Situation

After some superlative performances at the U21 Euros in the summer, Wijnaldum has put himself in the shopping window once again. Liverpool were supposedly looking to sign him back in December/January, but there seems to be no possibility there at the moment. In truth, it is highly unlikely that Wijnaldum will not be a PSV player in September, probably due to the fact that ex-captain Strootman has just moved to Roma.