Headliner Wijnaldum

It was all the way back during TOTW 5 that 86 Georgino Wijnaldum joined my squad as a player pick.  Ever since he has been in and out of the lineup but it always feels like I keep coming back to him.  Over 300 games later and an upgrade is finally available, without hesitation I knew I wanted to take a look at the Liverpool workhorse this weekend.  With the makeup of my squad, it made sense that Gini spend the weekend patrolling the midfield as a CDM in the 4-2-3-1.  After applying the SHADOW chemistry style I was ready to see if there would be any notable difference from the 86 and dove head first into the Weekend League grind.  Wijnaldum was the engine driving my team forward in the following squad:
 

Overall

Rating: 9.2/10
Pace Rating: 9.7/10
Dribbling Rating: 9.2/10
Shooting Rating: 8/10
Passing Rating: 8.5/10
Physical Rating: 9.2/10
Defending Rating: N/A

One of the main reasons I kept coming back to IF Wijnaldum in different squads is his drive in the midfield.  In the 4-2-3-1 I like the fact that the two CDMs are sat in the center and breaking up play and acting as a buffer before the backline.  However, I also like sending one forward into the attack and getting that extra body into the opponent's final third.  The high/high work rates and high stamina allows Wijnaldum to make these runs all game long. The best part of Headliner Wijnaldum was that he continued to complete this role, but was quicker at 98 ACCELERATION & 89 SPRINT SPEED, more agile on the ball with 83 AGILITY and 86 BALANCE, and slightly more clinical with +2 in all shooting categories.  All of these boosted attributes led to a nice return of 9 goals and 4 assists, excellent for a CDM… in my squad anyway.
    

Linkability & Current Game Strength 

Linkability Rating: 4/5
Current Game Strength Rating: 5/5

Obviously he was a key part of my squad, but another reason IF Wijnaldum just keeps popping up every weekend is the links.  The hyperlink to Van Dijk has been a huge part of my squad building solutions, the Liverpool links just keep on coming, and then there are a handful of excellent Dutch options to link to various leagues.
So far I have only touched on Wijnaldum’s offensive capabilities; this card is also a juggernaut in the middle of the pitch and incredibly reliable in the defensive third.  Due to the fact that I did not have a ton of clips for the video I did throw a couple of clips were Wijnaldum was unable to finish chances, but I put them in there anyway due to the fact that Gini’s 92 INTERCEPTIONS led to the chances in the first place.  The combination of 87 STANDING & SLIDE TACKLES are sharp and generally end up in taking the ball, while 74 STRENGTH feels more like 90 both on and off the ball as well.

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

Value/Coins Rating: 5/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 4.5/5

This value for coins is a tricky category to comment on.  I purchased Wijnaldum on Friday evening and therefore paid a premium.  Throughout the weekend he continued to drop and even hit 490k at one point.  Even at that price, I did read some FUT Managers suggesting he was too high, but I can’t agree.  If you type in the stats that Wijnaldum has and compare him to other options it becomes clear how unique his combination of skill sets are.  Wijnaldum is one generous Shooting boost away from the Gullit Gang of all 80+ rated statistics. So 500k I would have said is a steal, however, with the recent Liverpool win over West Ham, Wijnaldum has jumped to 570k as many managers bank on a Liverpool win over Southampton on Saturday, resulting in the first Headliner 4 win upgrade.  570k is too steep for the current card, but with yet another boost I do think the price would be fair again, the question is how high he will go in the hype of the match and the anticipation of the boost when/if they win on Saturday… something to monitor for sure.

As an out and out CDM this card gets a full 5/5 Good vs Bad rating for me.  As I just said he is incredibly well rounded and wins the ball time and time again.  The agility, balance, and pace are perfectly combined in this card and Wijnaldum breaks up countless attacks before they even reach the backline.  However, outside of a CDM, I have to go with a 4.5/5 rating for Wijnaldum given his sporadic shooting and passing.  Both of these categories could use a boost and it is definitely where a lot of people start their arguments for his card being overpriced.  The 3 STAR WEAK FOOT only amplifies this problem and a few of the chances he missed this weekend were borderline sitters, while a few untimely giveaways led me to scream like Ole at Lingard … “one more time Gini and you’re coming off!”

Closing Words

Normally I like to come to a conclusion and provide a recommendation on whether or not I would buy a card.  However, I feel inclined to just leave this one for your own discretion given the gamble that is involved with this card.  Honestly, there is no better word than a gamble, I do think the 88 rated Headliner for the 4th Liverpool win will be good value at 575k … but I also know that a Liverpool lose sends this card spiraling for a loss of coins.  I won’t be responsible for those choices and therefore I simply sign off by saying that Wijnaldum was a definite and noticeable improvement on the 86 IF Wijnaldum and one of the best ball carrying CDMs I have used.  He provides cover, provides defensive to offensive transitions on the ball, and can even provide some goal returns.  If you decide to roll the dice on this dynamic midfield option, I wish you luck, I will be holding mine along with you.  Cheers for reading. 
 

Game Stats:

Game Highlights