Speaking on the Transfer Window Podcast, Duncan Castles has given an update on the reported deal to take Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool to Barcelona.
The Dutch midfielder is out of contract in the summer, and it’s been widely reported that Barcelona are keen on bringing the Liverpool ace to Camp Nou at the end of the season.
Castles has backed up a claim he made in The Times last week, stating that a deal is done, but he claims that Barcelona have given an off-record briefing denying that a deal has been reached.
“Last summer Barcelona wanted to sign him, tried to sign him. Ronald Koeman made him one of his priority requests when he arrived at Camp Now and no agreement was made because they didn’t provide the transfer fee Liverpool were looking for,” Castles said.
“He’s been used by Klopp even when there’s a question mark over his future. The information I have from Barcelona is that the deal is now agreed, he’s signed a pre-contract with the club and he will be a Barcelona player in the summer, and I think that’s a signal in their faith in Koeman, who’s position was in doubt when the presidential elections started.
“This is going to be the first signing of Laporta’s second presidential era at Barcelona. There’s been a bit of briefing, off-record briefing, nothing on record from the Barcelona end that the deal isn’t complete.
“I’m told that is because they didn’t want this information to come out at this stage, they still have their season to complete, they still have trophies to compete for and the fact that they’re bringing in a 30-year-old midfielder and investing a significant amount in the contract to bring him there is not good news for some of the current midfielders at Barcelona.”
Barcelona would be wise to not disclose the details of this deal to sign Wijnaldum just yet.
If Castles is right and a contract has been agreed, it makes sense for the La Liga giants to not announce it yet. After all, they do still have a league title to contend for and they need minimal distractions.
However, it does seem as though the cat is out of the bag on this front and Barcelona’s briefing hasn’t been all that successful when it comes to keeping this a secret.
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