Liverpool have completed the signing of Georginio Wijnaldum from Rafael Benitez's Newcastle United for £25 million but just who exactly is the young Dutch talent?
He started his career at Feyenoord making his debut in 2007 and in the process becoming the youngest player to ever start for the club. Wijnaldum played a total of 134 matches for Feyenoord scoring 25 goals and creating 11 assists in the process.
In 2011 he moved on to Dutch giants PSV for approximately five million euros. Wijnaldum netted his first goal for PSV on 21st August 2011 at the age of 21. By the 2013/2014 season he had been named captain of the side however he was unable to feature regularly due to a back injury. In the following season he captained the side to their first league title in seven years. During his time at PSV Wijnaldum scored a total of 56 goals in 152 appearances.
The year 2015 saw the attacking midfielder come to England joining Newcastle United for £14.5 million. In the October of his first season as a Magpie, Wijnaldum scored four goals in a 6-2 win over Norwich, the feat made him just the second player to score more than three goals for Newcastle during a Premier League game. Last season he collected a total of 11 goals and five assists in 40 appearances for Newcastle and it was clear that several clubs would have him on their radar after Newcastle United were unfortunately relegated to the Championship.
Liverpool's close ties with former boss Rafael Benitez undoubtedly played a key role in the successful signing but the midfielder also said he was "really excited" about joining Liverpool because "Liverpool is a big club with a great history".
He never actually wanted to be a footballer to begin with, he was more interested in gymnastics. So we can expect some acrobatic finishes then?
Welcome to Anfield Georginio.
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| Image via skysports.com |
In 2011 he moved on to Dutch giants PSV for approximately five million euros. Wijnaldum netted his first goal for PSV on 21st August 2011 at the age of 21. By the 2013/2014 season he had been named captain of the side however he was unable to feature regularly due to a back injury. In the following season he captained the side to their first league title in seven years. During his time at PSV Wijnaldum scored a total of 56 goals in 152 appearances.
The year 2015 saw the attacking midfielder come to England joining Newcastle United for £14.5 million. In the October of his first season as a Magpie, Wijnaldum scored four goals in a 6-2 win over Norwich, the feat made him just the second player to score more than three goals for Newcastle during a Premier League game. Last season he collected a total of 11 goals and five assists in 40 appearances for Newcastle and it was clear that several clubs would have him on their radar after Newcastle United were unfortunately relegated to the Championship.
Liverpool's close ties with former boss Rafael Benitez undoubtedly played a key role in the successful signing but the midfielder also said he was "really excited" about joining Liverpool because "Liverpool is a big club with a great history".
He never actually wanted to be a footballer to begin with, he was more interested in gymnastics. So we can expect some acrobatic finishes then?
Welcome to Anfield Georginio.