The name of Georginio Wijnaldum has been linked to Barcelona as a trainer since the arrival of Ronald Koeman, but Sky Sports considers it likely that the the Dutch International will not move to Spain next summer. According to the English sports channel, the stormy development of Ilaix Moriba near Barcelona may have made it unnecessary to attract Wijnaldum.
Koeman made eighteen-year-old Moriba debut in the main force of Barcelona in January and for the time being, called on the midfielder eight times, who provided a goal and three assists in those performances. The new president Joan Laporta would like to give preference to the talents from the own youth academy over new players, which is why it is considered to give Moriba a more prominent role next season. That would make the arrival of Wijnaldum to Barcelona superfluous.
Wijnaldum still has an expiring contract with Liverpool and can officially negotiate with other clubs from January. Sky Sports reports that the thirty-year-old midfielder is waiting for the financial audit that Laporta is currently conducting at Barcelona, because it must then be clear whether the Catalans will make him an offer. However, the new Barcelona administration now prefers to talk to Koeman’s staff about the role of the self-trained Moriba.
If a transfer to Barcelona does not get off the ground, Wijnaldum can always extend his contract with Liverpool. An offer to stay in England is still on the table and manager Jürgen Klopp has shown several times that he would like to continue with Wijnaldum. The 73-time the Dutch-international, who was taken over by Liverpool from Newcastle United in 2016, played forty official matches this season, in which he scored three goals.
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