Ex-England forward Darren Bent believes that contract rebel Gini Wijnaldum does not warrant the salaries being pocketed by the likes of Mohammad Salah and Sadio Mane at Anfield.
Bent’s recent remarks come amid Wijnaldum’s extended battle with the Merseyside outfit to put pen to paper on a new and improved deal, with reports flying around that the Holland international is seeking a massive bump in his current wages, one which would put him in the highest-paid bracket of Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Speaking to Football Insider, Bent said that in spite of Wijnaldum’s growing importance in the centre of the park for Liverpool FC, the former Newcastle United man remains a long shot away from being put besides his star teammates Salah and Mane in getting his desired hike in salary.
‘He’s been very, very good but no, I’m not putting him on the same wages as Salah, Mane – even [Roberto] Firmino, for that matter.
‘But to kind of catapult yourself to where [Virgil] van Dijk is, Alisson… them two, for instance, changed lives at Liverpool when they came in.
‘So to say you want to be on the same kind of level as them, I don’t think so. You can’t get away with that.
‘He certainly deserves a bigger wage than he’s probably on but to say that he wants to be one of the top earners, in the same bracket as them guys – no.’
With the opening of the January transfer window, Wijnaldum has now become free to open talks with interested clubs across Europe on agreeing upon a free transfer which would materialise this coming summer.
FC Barcelona lead the race to land the Dutchman’s signature should he end up taking the exit door out of Anfield, even as Jurgen Klopp is understood to make one final push for convincing his star midfielder on extending his stay in the Reds shirt.
