Wijnaldum was playing for Feyenoord at the same time Ryo Miyachi was on loan there. I watched quite a few games at the time and marked Wijnaldum down as a massive talent. He was more of an attacking player then and his technique and athleticism was very impressive. He then went on to have a very good time at PSV, before he moved on to Newcastle.
I think the secret to Liverpool's success is almost exclusively about superior recruitment. From what I can see, the person most responsible is Michael Edwards. He has been at the club since 2011, but as his influence has grown, so have the club. He is now their sporting director--and has been since November 2016: right about the time Liverpool's trajectory turned very much in the upwards direction--and carries the same clout at Liverpool as Sanllehi and Edu combined at Arsenal.
He's been a data analyst since 2003, he worked for Prozone and was their guy at Portsmouth with Harry Rednapp back then: so he was in the first wave of data analysts entering into football.
Gazza said above that at Liverpool the trend is average players becoming good, good players great, and great players becoming world class, and I agree entirely, but I don't think it's a story of superior coaching: it's about Liverpool's "research department"--which Edwards created--interpreting the huge volume of data collected in ways that are more accurate when predicting the level of improvement of a potential signing or how long an older player can sustain their current level.
Let's be honest, Liverpool don't do anything special on the pitch: they don't really even (gegen)press these day as the stats clearly show, they're not even particularly well organised when you get at them, but what they do have is players all over the team that are performing at levels that not very long ago would defy all good judgment. In some cases still defy good judgment! This is not to say that Klopp isn't a top coach because he most certainly is.
But Liverpool signed these players, they predicted their trajectory, and they have an almost unerring hit rate these days. Edwards was laughed at for being a "laptop guru" when he first started gaining power at the club: his analysis was largely responsible for FSG parting ways with Brendan Rodgers and hiring Jurgen Klopp.
Edwards is the first guy, in my opinion, to really, deeply understand the value of statistical analysis in football whilst also calling the shots at a major football club. And the results speak for themselves.
As much as it pains me to say it, Liverpool are out ahead right now: ahead of the curve, leading the way. Looking back on their growth some time from now, and with other clubs copying them and therefore shaping how football clubs and teams are run and managed in the future, I think Liverpool's rapid improvement and big success will prove football's 'Moneyball' moment.
