Georginio Wijnaldum says he always wants to keep in touch with his roots and be viewed in the same way he always has been, after securing a move to one of the biggest clubs in world football in the shape of Liverpool.

The midfielder secured a £25m move to Liverpool from Newcastle United earlier this summer, being targeted by Reds boss Jurgen Klopp as the man to bolster his engine room.
 



Wijnaldum knows that now he is a Liverpool player he has a higher status in the Netherlands, but the midfielder still wants to be regarded as the player he always has been, rather than a big star from Anfield.

"I always try to keep thinking of the Gini of that time [in Rotterdam where it all started]", he told the Algemeen Dagblad.
 


"I know where it all started", Wijnaldum explained.

relatedNewsStory

"I also think that I have not changed, you treat everyone equally.

"When I go somewhere, I hope to be Gini and not 'the Liverpool player'."

So far this season Wijnaldum has clocked up four appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, though he is still awaiting his first goal in a red shirt.

The 25-year-old started his career in the youth ranks at Sparta Rotterdam, having been born in the Dutch city.

He was soon snapped up by Feyenoord, but PSV Eindhoven signed Wijnaldum in 2011 and his career started to take off, something which led to a 2015 switch to Newcastle United.