Wijnaldum joins Mourinho’s Roma after tough first season at PSG

Georginio Wijnaldum has joined forces with Jose Mourinho at Roma on a season-long loan deal after a difficult first year at Paris Saint-Germain. The Serie A club confirmed the signing of Wijnaldum on Friday, just over a year after he moved to PSG from Liverpool as a free agent. Roma have the option to sign the Netherlands midfielder on a permanent basis at the end of the 2022-23 campaign. His arrival comes on a day fellow midfielder Jordan Veretout left the Giallorossi to join Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille.

Gini’s struggles in Paris

Wijnaldum was signed by PSG in June 2021 after his Reds contract expired, with the French giants muscling in when it had looked like he would join long-time admirers Barcelona. Yet Gini struggled to make an impact in France, starting only 22 games and frequently coming in for external criticism for his performances. He scored three goals and provided three assists across all competitions, and made 16 appearances off the bench, but has been considered expendable by new head coach Christophe Galtier, who replaced the sacked Mauricio Pochettino last month.

Wijnaldum was a first-team regular with Liverpool, starting 34 of the club’s 38 Premier League games in his final season at Anfield. At PSG, he was substituted 15 times last season, with only Ángel Di María (18 times) replaced more often.

Now the 31-year-old heads to Roma, who finished sixth last season in Serie A and won the Europa Conference League. A number of players have left the Italian capital side, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan to Inter on a free transfer, but head coach Mourinho has brought in Paulo Dybala from Juventus and Nemanja Matic from Manchester United. Like that pair, Wijnaldum will add considerable experience to the Roma ranks, and the prospect of regular first-team football in a World Cup year was sure to appeal to the Dutchman.