Al-Ettifaq coach Steven Gerrard has explained signing former Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum.

The Dutchman was snapped up from PSG.

Gerrard said, “Gini (Wijnaldum) recently hasn't played as much football as he would have liked. He had an injury where he broke his leg, and his last couple of experiences haven't brought him football happiness, so he was looking to play regular football, he wanted to smile again, he wanted to feel an important part of the team and we could give him that stage and that platform.

“He's got many similarities to Jordan in terms of leadership, professionalism. He's a winner, a different type to Jordan in terms of style, but they complement each other very well and I've seen that firsthand being a Liverpool fan for many years.

“We're looking for that combination, we're looking for that leadership and we're looking for them to play those key roles in terms of presence and contribution on the pitch.

“Bringing the likes of Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembele and Jack Hendry, it was important they were the right characters. The right people to also support us and give us a good core strength in the dressing room."