Gini Wijnaldum is eight months away from leaving for free

Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum is only eight months away from leaving on a free transfer as his contract negotiations drag on.

Normally Liverpool are really good at securing key players to long deals in order to protect their value and give the club some security when it comes to planning for the future.

We all thought the deal to give James Milner an extra couple of years at Anfield dragged on, but negotiations over Gini Wijnaldum have taken things to a new level.

The Dutchman’s deal expires in 2021 and there has been no real progress on fresh terms, said the Express, and that should be a cause for concern.

Because it means the former Newcastle man is only eight months away from leaving Liverpool for nothing as teams will be able to offer him a pre-contract in January 2021.

This is starting to feel a little bit like the contract saga that saw Emre Can depart for Juventus on a free after insisting some pretty undesirable clauses were included in his contract.

There’s no suggestion that Wijnaldum is asking for these, but the slow progress for someone who is a key player under Jurgen Klopp is strange.

You’d be forgiven for casting your mind back to the days of Can and feeling like the same thing could happen again. Letting players like Alberto Moreno and Daniel Sturridge run down their deals and go for nothing is understandable, but not Gini.

Wijnaldum is an asset that could fetch a good amount on the transfer market, money that could be used to fund another key squad upgrade. According to Transfermarkt, he is worth £36 million. That’s a lot of money to let slip through your fingers.

This man has played 89% of the available minutes under Jurgen Klopp this season and can’t be allowed to run his deal down and leave for nothing.