Liverpool legend John Aldridge believes Georginio Wijnaldum has been unsettled by interest from Barcelona.

The Holland international, now inside the final year of his Reds contract, is a top target for new Barca coach Ronal Koeman.

Writing for the Sunday World, Aldridge reasoned: “Normally you rarely see him lose a ball, but that happened a few times in the first half against Arsenal (in the Community Shield). That could possibly be caused by the lack of clarity about his future.

"There is a lot of talk about how Thiago (Alcantara, Bayern Munich) should replace Wijnaldum in the Liverpool team and there are rumours that he has been picked up by Koeman, the new Barcelona coach.

"Jürgen Klopp will want this situation resolved quickly, because players who are uncertain about their futures can take that into games. Liverpool cannot afford to have this become a major issue towards the October 5 transfer deadline."