Liverpool midfielder Georgino Wijnaldum may have to wait until Barcelona can download Miralem Pjanic before he can formally seal his expected free transfer to Camp Nou this summer.
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Wijnaldum is nearing the end of his Liverpool contract and has not agreed on an extension with the Reds, which means that he will leave Anfield as a free agent at the end of June if things do not change.
Wijnaldum is expected to leave Liverpool as a free agent this summer | Catherine Ivill / Getty Images
The Dutch international has been an important part of the successful Liverpool team that Jurgen Klopp has gathered in recent years and has won the Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and Premier League. However, he has been linked with a move to Barcelona for some time.
The interest from the Catalan club last summer was never turned into a formal approach, but the 30-year-old Wijnaldum can now stop being one of the best host signings in 2021 and is already considered to have a pre-agreement in place with his new club.
Wijnaldum is entitled to formally negotiate with all foreign clubs as he is the last six months of his contract, without the need for explicit permission from Liverpool. As such, it was believed that the Premier League was actually in the dark over his pre-contract with Barcelona.
Rumor has it that Liverpool did not know about Wijnadlum’s advance agreement with Barcelona | Alex Livesey – Danehouse / Getty Images
The player himself has been amazed throughout the story of his future and his latest update to the Dutch media NOS was that he still has ‘no news’, probably because nothing has been completed.
SPORT claims that in addition to Wijnaldum, Barcelona have also agreed free transfers to Manchester City defender Eric Garcia and Lyon forward Memphis Depay. Garcia is expected to sign a five-year contract and Memphis will sign for three.
These offers already seem to have been arranged and do not require any concessions, such as removing existing players’ salary costs or creating rooms in the squad without suffocating new young people, before they can come to Camp Nou. However, Wijnaldum may be slightly different.
Miralem Pjanic could be the key to Wijnaldum securing the Barcelona transfer Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
SPORT notes that his salary is unlikely to be a problem even if nothing else changes, but it is said that Wijnaldum still has to wait for the new hierarchy to be perfectly okay with his arrival. It depends on an assessment of the home-grown players in midfield and the profitability of moving Pjanic on.
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