Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has confirmed he did want to sign Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum in the summer.

The player was heavily linked with a switch to the Camp Nou following Koeman’s appointment at the Catalan club, and the former Holland head coach says he is still seeking to sign a second Dutch player, after snapping up Sergino Dest from Ajax:

“Hopefully, we will have a second Dutchman in the squad. Georginio Wijnaldum was on my list [too].”

Wijnaldum has under nine months remaining on his contract at Anfield and Koeman’s comments do suggest that Barcelona may well revive their interest either in January or at the end of the season when the midfielder is available on a free transfer.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has continued to play Wijnaldum regularly despite the speculation surrounding the 29-year-old’s future, but the German does have a track record of playing stars even if it is clear they are running down their contracts.

At Borussia Dortmund, Klopp did not drop Robert Lewandowski before he made the free transfer switch to Bayern Munich and, at Liverpool, Emre Can was played regularly before leaving for Juventus in 2018.