Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum is set to hold crunch talks with Jurgen Klopp.
With talk of a move to Barcelona intensifying, the player will sit down with the manager to discuss his future at the club. The Dutch international is said to be keen on staying at the club if an extension can be reached on his current deal.
With the player entering the final year of his contract, unless a new deal can be agreed he’ll be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club in January before leaving for free next summer. Liverpool will move to avoid that scenario by tying down a player who’s been instrumental in their recent Premier League and Champions League successes.
Former Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman – now at Barcelona – is a known admirer of his fellow countryman and believes Wijnaldum would play a key role in the rebuild that’s set to take place at the Catalan giants.
If an agreement over a contract extension can’t be made, Liverpool may be willing to sell the midfielder, rather than lose him for nothing in a year’s time.
The Merseyside club have been linked with a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara all summer, who’s in a similar situation over in Germany with a year left on his contract. However, unlike Wijnaldum, Thiago has told his club he’s unwilling to sign an extension, so the Bavarians are looking to offload the Spanish international before the end of the transfer window in October.
While Thiago would be a great addition to the Liverpool squad, the Spain international is more of a playmaker and certainly not a like-for-like replacement for Wijnaldum who enjoys the defensive side of the game. Therefore, losing Wijnaldum would mean Liverpool would have to find another player to cover the void, so it’s likely the Premier League champions will do all they can to keep their man.
