Liverpool’s move for Wijnaldum came as the club upped the stakes in its own bid for Blackburn Rovers defender Grant Hanley.
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Wijnaldum is understood to be keen to join Liverpool, who are set to embark on a pre-season tour of the USA.
Wijnaldum was Newcastle’s top scorer last season with 11 goals in a side that was later relegated to the Championship.
The 25-year-old inked a five-year contract with the Reds after making the switch from Newcastle on Friday, in a deal worth 23 million pounds ($30.16M) with £2 million more in add-ons.
Manager Rafa Benitez was initially reluctant to let Wijnaldum leave but for the right price, Benitez was prepared to let the Dutch midfielder go.
Sitting in the terrace area of the Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto, Klopp explained: “I’ve known him as a player since he was 16 or 17 when I first watched him play for Rotterdam, but I didn’t know him as a person before we met”.
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).
Liverpool has approved and settled a £25 million ($33m) deal for the Newcastle United midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum after talks and deliberation, early Thursday.
“On the prospect of working with Klopp, Wijnaldum said: “[He seems] a great man – from the outside – because I don’t know how he works yet and I have to work with him.
Manninger, a former Austria worldwide who also played for Fiorentina, Udinese and Juventus, had been training with Liverpool prior to him signing a contract.
Wijnaldum becomes the third player to join Liverpool in less than 72 hours, with Estonian global Ragnar Klavan arriving on Wednesday in a £4m deal from Augsburg, as well as 39-year-old former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger signing a one-year deal earlier today. “I think he can be a great player for us”. I know him well, he also did well in Brazil.
“It doesn’t matter where you put him on the field, he works hard”.
“The Premier League is the most attractive league in the world and you always have incredible players here”.
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Liverpool are targeting a £5million deal for Augsburg’s Ragnar Klavan as Jurgen Klopp looks to solve one of his pressing concerns.
