Although the Reds have not made a formal bid for Wijnaldum yet, the local newspaper states that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is keen on bringing in the Dutch global before the Reds squad departs for the club’s preseason tour in the United States later this week.
Advertisement
But it was anything but a left-field signing for Klopp who it turns out has been following the 25-year-old’s progression through the game for some years now.
The Netherlands global signed with Klopp’s side on Friday before flying to California to take part in his first training with his new club on Saturday.
Previous year 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. “That’s really important. I can’t wait to get him on the training pitch and for the fans to see him play in a Liverpool shirt”.
Wijnaldum is now expected to fly to United States to meet up with the rest of the squad.
“He can bring a few things into the team that we didn’t have before”.
The 49-year-old former Borussia Dortmund and Mainz 05 hailed Wijnaldum’s versatility, tactical intelligence, and experience.
“He’s a complete footballer”, the Reds boss explained.
“He was captain of PSV Eindhoven, the Dutch champions”.
He found out the hard way how difficult our competition can be; relegated with a strong (on paper) Newcastle side, but now he’ll face the demands of a team aiming for the top four. No career goes without scars.
Klopp will have most of his squad in America as those not involved in the latter stages of Euro 2016 have joined the tour party, such as those who played for England and Belgium. He is a midfield player in different positions, especially the centre, but the biggest difference to a lot of others is he can play on the wing too.
Barring any significant contractual issues, Wijnaldum will be with Liverpool within the next couple of days following a medical.
The midfielder’s desire to make the switch to Anfield was immediate and obvious.
“When I talked to him I could tell that he knows we have to work together to get this level out of him”. When I played for Liverpool, I heard them frequently say that he would be a wonderful asset one day. Let us know by dropping a comment below via our Facebook comment box. There’s no doubt. He’s 25 with a special story of life and a clear mind. Despite scoring 11 goals for the Tyneside outfit, the majority of those goals came against a single club.
Advertisement
Tottenham and Everton were also tracking Wijnaldum this summer with a view to securing his services, a fact Klopp was keen to highlight.
