“He also commented on the prospect of working alongside Jürgen Klopp, adding: “[He seems] a great man-from the outside-because I don’t know how he works yet and I have to work with him.
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Manager Rafa Benitez was initially reluctant to let Wijnaldum leave but for the right price, Benitez was prepared to let the Dutch midfielder go.
Newcastle – who travel to Doncaster Rovers tonight – want a large part of the fee to be paid up front, while Liverpool have proposed staggered payments.
He scored 11 goals in 38 league appearances in his maiden season in England, however Newcastle could not avoid relegation to the Championship.
The two clubs agreed and confirmed a deal for Gini Wijnaldum on Friday, with the player joining Liverpool in a £25m deal.
He will wear the number 5 shirt, last worn by defender Daniel Agger.
The Liverpool boss isn’t one to rush out and panic buy a big player for silly money to fill a gap or appease the fans, like we’ve seen at other prominent English clubs (we’re naming no names).
He will become Klopp’s sixth signing of the summer, and the second most expensive behind Sadio Mane, who cost the Reds £30m coming in from Southampton.
A year ago I didn’t watch him too much but I never forgot how well he performed at Eindhoven and as a very young boy in Rotterdam.
Georginio Wijnaldum says one conversation with Jurgen Klopp was all it took to convince him to join Liverpool. “He’s a real footballer and has a special kind of football smartness”, Klopp told Liverpool’s official site.
“We had a talk and I think after this talk I think we both knew we wanted to work together”.
Manninger will provide back-up to Simon Mignolet and fellow new arrival Loris Karius, who arrived from German club Mainz.
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Benitez has already brought in six new faces to his first-team squad as he plots an immediate return to the Premier League.
