Ronald Koeman was appointed as coach of Barcelona last summer. He wanted to strengthen the selection with Memphis Depay and Georginio Wijnaldum. Both players did not come, but the coach does not rule out that the club from Catalonia will make another attempt for one of the two in January. In an interview with it Algemeen Dagblad Koeman hints that Barça will try again in a few months to attract Depay, while explaining why he would have liked to add Wijnaldum to his selection.

When Koeman arrived at Barcelona, ​​he immediately had to deal with a dissatisfied Lionel Messi. The Argentinian wanted to leave, but ultimately chose to stay. Koeman went on a house visit and spoke extensively with the captain. After that, all he could do was wait for Messi’s decision. “In my ideas I always assumed that he would stay,” says Koeman in an extensive interview. “If Messi had left, a completely different situation would have arisen, we should have seen that. Our interest in Wijnaldum was in any case separate from it. ”

Why did Koeman want the Liverpool midfielder? “In a general sense, I think our selection could use some depth, especially without the ball. Gini has a great sense of space, he can get to the goal fantastically well from midfield, he could really add something to the team ”, says Koeman in the newspaper. “But the financial situation was known to the club, his position ultimately had less priority than, for example, the right back or the striker position.”

Sergiño Dest was hired for the right back position. Until the last moment, the club tried to get Depay to the Camp Nou. “We wanted Memphis because he is a great player, and because he has qualities that we lacked in my opinion: especially depth in the attacking game,” continues Koeman, who would like to add more depth to his game. “Most attackers at Barcelona want the ball in their feet, Memphis can be used as a starting point, but you can also send it away in depth. He is strong, dynamic, and can play in the striker as well as from the left. ”

Koeman spoke to Depay about a possible transfer. The two worked well together at the Dutch national team and a new collaboration seemed in the making. “In principle everything was ready, but due to the rules of LaLiga we knew that we had to sell a player first. In the end it did not happen. Too bad, but Memphis also knew what the situation was. ” Depay’s contract with Lyon expires in the summer of next year. It seems that the Orange-international will still move to Barcelona in January. “That is certainly a possibility, yes. I will try, because I like to have him there. But I cannot estimate now what the financial situation of the club will be like in January. That is waiting. ”