Georginio Wijnaldum is still high on Ronald Koeman’s list, so assures us Catalunya Radio. The Barcelona coach wants to make an attempt for the Liverpool midfielder in the final phase of the transfer period, if another midfielder leaves after Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Arthur Melo. There is a chance that Riqui Puig will switch clubs after all, so that Wijnaldum is still a transfer target for Barcelona. The club can still do business until October 5, when the European transfer window closes on that day.

Koeman recently sent a clear signal to Riqui Puig. “We have drawn our conclusion. We have now been preparing for three weeks and for Riqui there is just too much competition for his position at the moment,” the Barcelona coach recently reported in the Spanish media. Koeman’s statement caused surprise and annoyance among the supporters of the Catalan superpower. People like to see that a player from their own training gets a fair chance in the main force. The only 21-year-old midfielder, earlier this week Mundo Deportivo linked to Ajax, however, still belongs to Koeman’s selection.

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Wijnaldum has long been associated with a switch to Barcelona. Koeman knows the Liverpool midfielder from their joint period with the Dutch national team and the mutual relationship is still good. However, according to various foreign media, Barcelona has not yet made an official offer to Liverpool. Memphis Depay also seems to be in the picture at Koeman. Barcelona this week said goodbye to Arturo Vidal (Internazionale) and Nélson Semedo (Wolverhampton Wanderers), which seems to have the budget to do business in the transfer market again.

The Athletic reported last Tuesday that there is a good chance that Wijnaldum will leave Liverpool next summer transfer-free. During the negotiations for a new contract, he would have bet on a deal for four seasons, a demand that the Reds apparently too much. Manager Jürgen Klopp, who last week welcomed Thiago Alcántara from Bayern Munich, is not planning to write off Wijnaldum despite everything. The latter had just a basic place with the English champions on Sunday against Chelsea (0-2).