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It was another frustrating night for Liverpool as they put in a lacklustre display against West Ham on Monday night.

While the Reds continue to pick up vital points, two back-to-back league draws against Leicester and the Hammers have left many fans feeling like it was four points dropped rather than two gained.

Key injuries in midfield to important players such as Jordan Henderson and - more notably - Gini Wijnaldum, meant Liverpool were forced to implement the trio of Adam Lallana,Fabinho and Naby Keita.

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However, that midfield struggled to cut through Manuel Pellegrini’s structured and organised side, leaving many perhaps realising the importance of the Dutchman under Jurgen Klopp.

Both Fabinho and Keita arrived in the summer and were expected to solidify a place in Liverpool’s midfield and banish Wijnaldum to the sidelines.

However, that competition in the middle has seemingly pushed Wijnaldum’s game onto the next level. In fact, the former Newcastle man has made nearly as many Premier League starts this season (20) than Keita (11) and Fabinho (11) combined.

(Image: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

It’s been a remarkable transition for Wijnaldum in the heart of Liverpool’s midfield as he has become Klopp’s most trusted lieutenants in his favoured 4-3-3 formation. Wijnaldum arrived at Anfield from Newcastle with an impressive goal record, 11 goals and five assists in 40 matches and was considered predominantly as a number 10.

However, as Wijnaldum has cemented himself as a mainstay in the heart of Liverpool’s midfield and has dropped further back down the pitch, the goals and assists have dried up.

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Not that it is considered a criticism. Now installed as an industrious number 6 - whether alone as the single pivot or alongside a team-mate in a 4-2-3-1 - he works to break down opposition attacks and quickly get the ball moving forward again for Liverpool to build their attacks. He has now become so much more than just a good attacking midfielder with a decent scoring record, he has incarnated into a complete ‘all-rounder’ - or a ‘hybrid’, if you like.

Despite establishing himself as an all-inclusive midfielder, there is still one aspect of his game that stands out even above his already imposing abilities: his elite level passing.

Below is a series of images from Liverpool v Leicester demonstrating Wijnaldum’s awareness and passing ability.

(Image: WyScout)

Wijnaldum’s body position suggests the ball will be played out wide for Virgil van Dijk to run onto. The Leicester players see this and begin to shift their positioning and focus to that side of the pitch. Note Andy Robertson at the top of the picture.

(Image: WyScout)

Wijnaldum turns excellently on the ball and spots the run of Robertson, knowing the opposition are expecting the ball to go into to his left.

(Image: WyScout)

Using that array of passing ability, Wijnaldum sends a pinpoint accurate lofted pass to Robertson to build a dangerous Liverpool attack.

This season Wijnaldum has established himself as one of the best passers of the ball in Europe - literally.

According to Wyscout, ranked against all other central midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues who have played over 1500 minutes this season, Wijnaldum ranks third with a very impressive pass completion rate of 93.32%. Borussia Dortmund’s Axel Witsel and PSG’s Marquinhos complete the top three.

Passing statistics can often be criticised for not demonstrating the full picture. Some players can boast impressive numbers, but if the majority of those successful passes are only backwards or sidesways, with a much depleted success rate for forward passes, the impact the player has on the team’s offensive build up play is minimal.

However, Wijnaldum can proudly distance himself from this bracket. Wijnaldum ranks top in the Premier League in terms of his passing accuracy for forward passes with a completion rate of 86.05%.

He only averages 13.71 forward passes per 90 minutes which is a median amount in comparison to others in his position, yet this perhaps illustrates Wijnladum’s maturity in central midfield, knowing when to play the correct forward pass and when to retain possession and work the ball with team-mates in order to carve openings in the opposition.

Additionally, this could illustrate why Liverpool struggled against West Ham. Fabinho filled the void left by the Dutch international and although he can emulate Wijnaldum in terms of defensive capabilities, it’s difficult to replace to such a virtuous passer of the ball.

There is no doubt Fabinho is a very capable passer, boasting a noble 90% pass completion rate this season himself, but Wijnaldum can still better that, along with a better completion rate for forward passes and long passes too.

Against West Ham, Liverpool’s pass success rate dropped to 84.96% in comparison to 89.34% against Leicester a few days earlier.

The below graphic from Monday's game in East London highlights perhaps one of the reasons for that.

(Image: WyScout)

Fabinho picks the back up inside his own half. He has two easy passing options in James Milner and Roberto Firmino, however he instead looks to play the ball long for Salah hanging on the shoulder of the defence.

(Image: WyScout)

The lofted pass is way short and easily intercepted by Angelo Ogbonna, who heads the ball forward.

(Image: WyScout)

From the header, West Ham’s Felipe Anderson collects the ball and the home side now find themselves on the front foot, despite Liverpool having possession in an advantageous position just seconds earlier.

Although it may only be small margins, Liverpool are that bit weaker in possession without Wijnaldum.

He often goes under the radar - including some Liverpool fans. In fact, he is still yet to pick up the club's player of the month award for this season. But make no mistake about it, he is a vital cog in the Reds machine.

With a vital few months coming up, there is no doubt Wijnaldum will be instrumental in Liverpool’s chances of success.