New Barcelona boss wants Liverpool midfielder at Camp Nou

Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum has emerged as a transfer target for Barcelona with new manager Ronald Koeman urging his compatriot to snub a new Liverpool contract, according to reports in the Netherlands. 

The 29-year-old midfield maestro has just one year left on his current deal at Anfield and has been stalling on a new deal for quite some time. As per reports in the Netherlands, Koeman has told Wijnaldum not to sign an extension as he is keen on bringing him to Nou Camp. 

Koeman was most recently the manager of the Dutch national team with Wijnaldum being one of his key players. Koeman replaced Quique Setien this week and is preparing for a major squad overhaul. 

Other than seven 'untouchables' Lionel Messi, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet, Nelson Semedo, Frenkie de Jong, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, each and every player has been put up for sale. 

And, Koeman will reportedly be hoping to try and land Wijnaldum with some raised funds. 

The midfielder signed for Liverpool from Newcastle for £25million in 2016 and played a crucial role in Jurgen Klopp's men becoming the champions of Europe, World, and finally England. 

But, despite being a key player, the former PSV Eindhoven star is yet to pen a new deal and opened the door to a transfer in January by admitting it is "difficult to say" what the future holds. 

"What would I like? It is difficult to say. It depends on what the club wants and how the situation is at that time," he remarked.

Miralem Pjanic will join Barcelona from Juventus as one new central midfielder during the brief off-season but Koeman is believed to be looking for more options in midfield. 

Having previously managed Wijnaldum with the Dutch national team, he wants to unite the 29-year-old with his Dutch teammate Frenkie de Jong. The three teamed up expertly to help pull the Netherlands out of a dire state following their failure to qualify for back-to-back major tournaments. 

And by signing Wijnaldum, they would no doubt hope to do something similar amid the chaos and unrest at Barcelona. 

However, Barcelona knows that it will not be easy to convince the former Feyenoord and PSV star to leave Anfield while making a move that may prompt the Reds to prioritize sorting a new deal.

Featured image credits- ESPN