Wijnaldum's Move To Camp Nou Will Happen Only If Barcelona Offload $71M Midfielder: Report

Liverpool FC midfielder Gini Wijnaldum’s move to FC Barcelona reportedly depends on Miralem Pjanic’s Camp Nou future.

Wijnaldum, whose current deal with Liverpool is due to expire at the end of the season, has been heavily linked with Barcelona as he is one of the top targets of Catalans’ boss Ronald Koeman. Wijnaldum and Koeman share a great relationship as the two have worked together at the Netherlands national team. But Barcelona will be unable to sign Wijnaldum until they offload midfielder Pjanic, Spanish media outlet Sport reported.

The 30-year-old Pjanic moved to Barcelona for a fee of around $71 million ahead of the 2020-21 campaign from Juventus as part of a deal for Arthur. The Sport report has stated that Pjanic is believed to already have surplus to Barcelona’s requirements and is already gaining interest from France and Italy. The Catalan club is certain that they will be able to sell Pjanic this summer to ensure Wijnaldum’s deal happens this time.

It is understood that Barcelona have earmarked a few players for certain positions. The former La Liga champions want to sign Manchester City’s Eric Garcia on a five-year contract for defense, Wijnaldum for midfield and Lyon’s Memphis Depay for the attack. Last summer, Depay and Wijnaldum were tipped to move to Barcelona but the moves did not happen because of the club’s financial crisis infused by the pandemic. If Barcelona manage to pull of the two deals during the 2021 summer market, they are planning to offer the two Dutch players a three-year deal each, the Sport report further revealed.

Not only will Wijnaldum not disrupt Barcelona’s wage structure but also add the needed experience in the center of Barcelona’s field. Koeman believes, to compete in Europe you need players with international experience to raise the bar and Wijnaldum may be one of them. It was earlier reported that Wijnaldum has agreed to pre-contract terms with Barcelona and is set to become the first signing under Joan Laporta’s presidency at Camp Nou.

Despite being 30, Wijnaldum is one of the fittest players at Liverpool and that would work well for Barcelona. Out of Liverpool’s 42 competitive games this season, the Dutchman has missed just two. Wijnaldum has established himself as one of the top midfielders in the world over the years and has been several European clubs chasing him, including Inter Milan.