Liverpool urged to sign “amazing player” to replace Georginio Wijnaldum | OneFootball

Former Liverpool star Michael Thomas has urged his old club to seal the transfer of “amazing” Leicester City star Youri Tielemans to replace Georginio Wijnaldum in midfield.

The ex-Red is a big fan of Tielemans, who has certainly shone as one of the finest players in the Premier League in recent times with his displays at the King Power Stadium.

The Belgium international had a particularly great moment last season as he struck a beauty of a winning goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup final, handing the trophy to Leicester.

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With Liverpool losing Wijnaldum to Paris Saint-Germain this summer, there is surely space for a talent like Tielemans in their squad, and Thomas would be very keen to see his old club make this happen.

“Tielemans is an amazing player and is only going to get better,” Thomas told CaughtOffside. “This is 100% something that should be explored going forward.

“His qualities are there for all to see, and he has proven he can do it at Premier League and international level.”

On Wijnaldum, Thomas added that he could imagine it being tricky to replace the influential Dutchman, though he also suggested he understood that the club might’ve had other priorities for players to tie down to new contracts.

“Wijnaldum is a great player and also a good person to have in and around the changing room,” Thomas said. “He’s got great experience and always gives 100%.

“Having said that, there are other players that were perhaps slightly more important to tie down to new contracts, and the club may have thought they could get a good enough replacement in.”

Thomas added that he’d like to see a more creative player in an advanced midfield role, with the former England international suggesting LFC could still do with replacing Philippe Coutinho.

When asked about possibly bringing the Brazilian back from Barcelona, however, Thomas felt the Merseyside giants would probably do better to move on from him and find alternatives.

“Coutinho’s quality is very evident. If he can stay fit then why wouldn’t he be able to make an impact? Still, I don’t think coming back to Liverpool is the right move for the club and we should be looking elsewhere,” Thomas said.

“It was a superb piece of business for the club and you can clearly see how it has benefited by reinvesting in Virgil van Dijk and Alisson.

“The type of qualities that Coutinho has, however, needs to be in the squad – they should look to get a player in who can unlock defences in tight games.

“I know we got Thiago in but he does it more from deep, whereas we need a player to do this higher up the pitch.”