Georginio Wijnaldum has been linked to Barcelona for a long time. The Liverpool midfielder is out of contract this summer and has rejected advances from the Reds as he aims to sign for Barcelona on a free transfer. But there is a stumbling block in the Wijaldum deal.
The previous Barcelona board has been guilty of poor transfer planning and incompetent management. The failures of the previous board now need to be mopped up by Joan Laporta and his administration. One deal that is causing more problem than fixing the ongoing worries is the signing of Miralem Pjanic.
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The Blaugrana exchanged Arthur for Pjanic with the Brazilian going to Juventus for a deal worth 72 million euros whereas the Bosnian midfielder coming to Camp Nou for 60 million euros. The fans were left baffled by this decision because Arthur was easily one of the best players in the Barca midfield.
Pjanic joined the Catalans before the start of the 2020-21 season. However, the 30-year-old has failed to make a positive impact and doesn’t feature in Ronald Koeman’s core group. In 28 appearances, the midfielder has started just 13 games and is without a goal or an assist. Barca want to revamp the side and will aim to sell Pjanic.
Georginio Wijnaldum move to Barcelona on halt
According to The Mirror, Wijnaldum’s move to Barcelona could be put on halt until the club offloads Pjanic. Koeman has left no stone unturned to bring the 30-year-old Dutch midfielder to Camp Nou but he might just have to wait until Pjanic is sold to bring the admired Liverpool man to the Nou Camp.
The idea behind this is to not hamper the development of La Masia products that have emerged from the setup and are knocking on the doors of the first team. Youngsters Ilaix Moriba and Riqui Puig have been impressive every time they have taken the field and it would be a criminal offence to curb their metamorphosis.
With Wijnaldum’s arrival, the already well-stacked midfield will be even more competitive with players vying for spots in the starting lineup. It is encouraging to see that Koeman is ready to put trust in the youngsters and not cut off the opportunities for the La Masia kids.
Pjanic has attracted attention from France and Italy which makes Barca hopeful of offloading the Bosnia and Herzegovina international. The sale will also help the club in generating the funds as Laporta chases the signing of Erling Haaland.
Will Georginio Wijnaldum be a successful signing for the Blaugrana?