Speaking on the Blood Red podcast, Echo journalist Paul Gorst has shared what he’s heard about rumours that Georginio Wijnaldum has signed a pre-contract agreement with Barcelona.
It had been reported that Wijnaldum to Barcelona is a done deal and that an announcement on that front was imminent, but Gorst believes that this isn’t the case.
He says that Wijnaldum’s situation hasn’t changed and that he’s previously heard that the midfielder wants to stay on Merseyside.
“I’ve had a week off, so I’ve gone a week without being asked. My last shift was the last update I had about it. Wijnaldum hasn’t informed the club of any intention to sign for Barcelona or to sign a pre-contract with Barcelona,” Gorst said.
“There’s also the caveat that he doesn’t actually have to. If he wants to sign for Barcelona he isn’t obligated to tell Liverpool.
“As it stands, there’s no change.”
Gorst then went on to dissect Wijnaldum’s comments in his press conference last week, before returning to the topic at hand.
“It’s an interesting one, I was told a while back that he wants to stay, he’s settled on Merseyside with his young family, and he absolutely loves the club and loves being here essentially.
“The issue that he might have is that he signed his contract in July 2016, and pretty much everyone else has had a new deal or has been signed since, so he’s probably one of the lowest earners in this Liverpool team because he signed before they were even back in the Champions League.”
It seems as though the race for Wijnaldum’s signature is still as wide open as it has ever been.
Of course, we can’t write of the possibility of him signing for Barcelona, but it doesn’t seem as though that deal has progressed as much as some reports would have you believe.
This remains a situation to keep a keen eye on in the coming months.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
