Thursday, August 4, 2022 at 4:49 PM• Wessel Antes

Georginio Wijnaldum will arrive in the Italian capital in the coming hours for his medical examination at AS Roma, transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano reported via Twitter. He is expected to be definitively presented by the club tomorrow. L’Equipe released details of the lease terms between the Romans and Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday afternoon.

The French sports newspaper reports that Roma will initially take over half of Wijnaldum’s salary. That amounts to about five million euros. If the 31-year-old midfielder gives birth in Serie A, the club can definitively take him over for a transfer fee of eight million euros. The buy option could become mandatory for Roma if the Italians qualify for the Champions League group stage, or if Wijnaldum comes in for half of all Serie A matches.

If one of those scenarios occurs, Wijnaldum will automatically receive a contract in Italy until mid-2025. In that case, Wijnaldum’s sad period at PSG will immediately come to an end. In his first season with the Parisians, Wijnaldum mainly played as a substitute for the club. The 86-time international of the Dutch has played 38 games for PSG so far, in which he scored three times and provided three assists. The Rotterdammer hopes to regain his base place with the Dutch national team in Rome.

National coach Louis Gaal was still tough for Wijnaldum at the end of May “I no longer adhere to the principle of playing minutes. That players must necessarily play at their clubs, in order to qualify for the Dutch national team. But form is important to me. Oranje is not a rehabilitation center, not a psychotherapeutic center. You have to deliver and Wijnaldum has not done that.” Van Gaal gave the midfielder a good prospect: “If he regains his normal form, he will just play again. I’m a Georginio lover, but you have to live up to it.”