Ronald Koeman thinks Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum will be at Barcelona next season, according to reports.
The Netherlands international is out of contract in the summer, which means he has been able to start negotiating with overseas clubs from January 1, and talks about extending his stay at Anfield have hit an impasse despite Jurgen Klopp clearly wanting him to stay.
Wijnaldum was heavily linked with Barcelona in the last transfer window but there will be plenty of other clubs interested in a player who has been a key part of Liverpool’s success over the last three years.
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A piece in Mundo Deportivo discussing Barcelona’s possible transfer business insists that Koeman knows ‘that he cannot ask for pears from the elm’ due to ‘the red numbers generated by the pandemic’.
However, the Dutch boss is ‘confident that Eric Garcia, Wijnaldum and Memphis Depay can arrive for free in the summer market’.
Mundo Deportivo add that ‘now he needs at least one of those three players to qualify for the big three titles.
Klopp has been here before, of course, as he faced a similar situation with Emre Can in 2017-18 and Liverpool have been more successful than ever under the German boss since Can’s departure.
The Germany international made 38 appearances during that campaign but declined the offer of a new contract and left for Juventus on a free contract in the summer.
