Stephen Warnock urges Liverpool to keep hold of Wijnaldum

 

Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock believes the Reds should keep hold of Georginio Wijnaldum despite their interest in signing Thiago Alcantara. The Premier League champions hold a keen interest in signing the Bayern Munich midfielder and reports have claimed that they could part ways with Wijnaldum to recoup funds for the transfer.

However, speaking to Stadium Astro, Warnock has said that his former employers will need the services of Wijnaldum in their ranks and they should look to offload the likes of Harry Wilson, Marko Grujic, Rhian Brewster to afford the £30m price tag for Thiago, he told: “There’s a lot of talk around Merseyside that Wijnaldum has to go for the deal to happen. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case.

“I think the likes of Harry Wilson, Marko Grujic, Rhian Brewster – if these fringe players leave and they raise enough money for the £30m that Bayern Munich are after, I think they’d more than happily keep Wijnaldum. I think when you think of adding to that midfield position, Liverpool’s midfield has to be dynamic every single game, they have to play at 100 per cent.”

Wijnaldum’s future has been a constant point of speculation over the past few weeks amid his reluctance to sign a new contract. The Dutchman has only 10 months remaining on his current deal and reports have claimed that he could make the switch to Barcelona to be reunited with former Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman.

There has been no formal bid from the Catalan giants to date, but there is the anticipation that the club could make an approach in the near future. Liverpool have experienced a quiet transfer window to date and they have purchased only one player in Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiacos. The Greek is expected to feature as the back-up left-back behind Andrew Robertson.