Recent developments suggest that Paris Saint Germain's late interest in Georginio Wijnaldum has changed the Dutchman's mind who is now closer to a Parc Des Princes move rather than the Camp Nou one.
Wijnaldum, whose contract with Liverpool has expired this season, was linked with Barcelona for quite some time. On Monday the Midfielder announced that he will not be a Liverpool player anymore confirming his exit from the Merseyside club.
Wijnaldum has previously played under Koeman for the Netherlands when they reached the UEFA Nations League final. Koeman is a fan of Wijnaldum and was eager to bring him to Camp Nou. Wijnaldum's 2 goals against Barcelona in the infamous 4-0 Liverpool victory are still fresh in Barcelona fans' memories. The Midfielder has been the engine of Jürgen Klopp's Midfield for the last 5 years.
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Wijnaldum was just a few days away from his Barcelona medical but PSG's interest completely changed things around. The Dutch Midfielder had agreed a deal with the Catalans and pretty much sealed it. But PSG offered a better deal to Wijnaldum according to reports. There is also a report about Mauricio Pochettino calling the former Liverpool man to convince him to come to Paris.
Barcelona have no intentions of improving their offer for Wijnaldum and hence the player should sign for PSG shortly. Wijnaldum will have to break into the PSG first team which already has midfielders Ander Herera, Leandro Paredes, Marco Verrati, Idrissa Gueye and Danilo Pereira.
Pochettino had previously shown interest in Gini Wijnaldum when the Argentine manager was at Spurs but the deal never materialized. The PSG manager has played a huge part in Wijnaldum choosing PSG over Barcelona along with the financial aspect of it.
Pochettino has had a lukewarm start to his career at PSG. Having played for Paris as a player Pochettino's arrival was very exciting for PSG fans but the Argentine has failed to deliver. PSG failed to win the Ligue 1 for the first time in 4 years. Although he did manage to win the Coupe de France, Trophée des Champions, another UCL failure means that Pochettino has a lot to improve next season. To make matters worse former manager Thomas Tuchel has won the UCL with Chelsea after being sacked by PSG in December.
Wijnaldum will offer Physicality like no other midfielder to Pochettino's team. On paper, the Idea of Marco Verrati's playmaking and Wijnaldum's strength and aggression in the same midfield is a deadly combination. It might go on to become the midfield that will cover the most ground due to their incredible work rates.
Wijnaldum will be a welcome signing for PSG and if they manage to keep hold of Mbappe the next season will be legendary for them.
