Barcelona sits third in La Liga table after a dismal start to the season. The Blaugrana captain Lionel Messi also seems to find his form with stellar plays and set-pieces. Ronald Koeman feels his team is much steady now compared to a shaky start to the 2020/21 season.
Pedri has found his way into the first-team squad and Barca has returned to winning ways even without Ansu Fati. The 18-year-old youngster last played for Barcelona in November against Betis. He recently underwent an operation on the interior meniscus of the knee as fans wish his speedy recovery.
Koeman revisits Summer transfer break target in January
With the transfer window re-opening, a lot of rumors have spread over Koeman’s possible signings. None of them hold value unless the midfielder crisis situation at Camp Nou.
The Dutch gaffer has tried playing Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Miralem Pjanic, and even Riqui Puig in the pivot in his 4-2-3-1 formation.
However, he seems discontent with the summer signing of the former Juventus midfield maestro. He finally came down to give Puig his golden chance to shine after months away from first-team football. Busquets is aging and Koeman needs to replace him if not with Pjanic.
The Catalan outfit tried hard to sign Georginio Wijnaldum during the summer transfer window but it did not work out evidently. Barcelona suffered from a lack of funds which also barred them from pursuing another Premier League prospect, Eric Garcia.
The Liverpool man is in the final year of his contract at the club. It is possible that after 5 years at the club, Wijnaldum may leave the club for greener pastures. Barcelona is one of the options he can opt for, reuniting with his former national team coach.
The move to Camp Nou is believable now as the Netherlands International will snub the last opportunity to extend his stay at the Merseyside.
Barcelona will eventually sign him during the summer of 2021 as a free agent with no cost involved. It is an absolute win-win situation for Barca. Wijnaldum is going to follow the footsteps of Johan Cryuff, Frank Rijkaard, and Koeman himself.
Jurgen Klopp tight-lipped over Wijnaldum’s future as Barcelona move nears
Liverpool created jeopardy over Geoginio’s future after they signed Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window. It is one of the fuelling reasons which will keep Wijnaldum from signing a contract extension.
More importantly, Klopp remained silent and tight-lipped when asked about the progress of the renewal for the Dutch midfielder, as per Mirror. He does realize that Wijnaldum comprised his Premier League, as well as the Champions League, winning squad.
The player also netted two crucial goals against Barcelona initiating a comeback in the home leg. Although Thiago will be a great replacement as a midfielder, the Spaniard is yet to recover from his injuries and settle in Premier League football.
