Georginio Wijnaldum wants to stay at Anfield but believes his wages should compare more favourably with the club's top earners; Dutch midfielder is out of contract in the summer and is wanted by Barcelona
Thursday 7 January 2021 18:36, UK
Talks between Georginio Wijnaldum and Liverpool over a new contract have reached a stalemate.
A long-standing offer of a new deal remains on the table but, for now, the 30-year old Dutch midfielder has not accepted it.
Sky Sports News has been told suggestions that Wijnaldum has turned down a new contract offer from Liverpool are wide of the mark.
The player, who is out of contract in the summer, wants to stay at Anfield but believes his wages should compare more favourably with the club's top earners.
Jurgen Klopp has made it clear he wishes to keep Wijnaldum, who has played in all 17 of Liverpool's Premier League games this season.
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman remains keen to sign his compatriot but, as of yet, that interest has not progressed into an official offer from the Spanish giants to either the player or Liverpool.
A difficult start to the LaLiga season, as well as their ongoing presidential elections, has put any potential transfer business on hold, while Koeman's future at the club looks far from secure.
Barca's long-term intentions towards Wijnaldum may become clearer after the new club president is announced on January 24.
Analysis from SSN's Kaveh Solhekol:
"Klopp has to be very diplomatic. He is not going to start telling us exactly what is happening with the negotiations.
"What we do know is Wijnaldum wants to stay and Klopp also wants him to stay, but he is at the stage of his career where his contract runs out this summer and he knows big clubs in Italy and Barcelona are after him.
"And Liverpool also have to be careful in this economic climate when handing out contracts to players. What we are being told is a contract has been put in front of Wijnaldum, he has not signed it yet, he does not have to sign it, he is keeping his options open.
"But reading between the lines, Klopp wants him to stay. But as far as Wijnaldum is concerned, he needs to be paid what he believes he is worth."
Plenty of other top names will see their contract run out in the summer of 2021 and are consequently free to talk to clubs from foreign leagues now.
The pool of out-of-contract players is more high profile than ever, with club legends in Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero also up for grabs if they do not sign a new deal.
Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth on The Transfer Show:
"If you go back to the summer, Liverpool actually sold a central defender in Dejan Lovren and Klopp decided that he didn't need to go into the market because he had Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams.
"He thought that would be enough to take them through the season. I don't think he foresaw the injury problems and having to play Fabinho, plus one of Phillips and Williams. People will say they only conceded one goal against Southampton, but playing two of your central midfielders in defence weakens two areas of the pitch.
"The way Liverpool approach their transfer policy, they always seem to have a shortlist of one player - when you look at when they first looked to sign Van Dijk. They didn't look to sign someone else and came back for him in the following January. Would I be surprised if Liverpool signed a centre-back in this transfer window? No.
"Would I be surprised if they didn't? Again no, simply because of their recruitment policy. But I just wonder if Klopp will change that policy very slightly and bring in a defender as a short-term fix, having watched what happened at Southampton."
If Klopp does decide to go into the market, who could he land?
We look at how the club's reported targets have performed this season, what their attributes are, and whether a deal may be possible for any of them in January...
The winter transfer window is open until Monday February 1 at 11pm.
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