Liverpool sign Georginio Wijnaldum for £25 million

Liverpool have completed the £25m signing of Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle United. The 25-year-old becomes Jürgen Klopp's seventh newcomer of the summer, following the moves of Loris Karius, Joel Matip, Marko Grujic, Sadio Mané, Ragnar Klavan and Alex Manninger to Anfield.

Wijnaldum scored 11 goals in 38 league appearances last season for Newcastle but could not prevent his side being relegated to the Championship.

On the prospect of joining up with Klopp on Liverpool’s US tour, Wijnaldum told the club website: “[he seems] a great man, from the outside, because I don’t know how he works yet and I have to work with him.

“[But] I always love to watch him, his passion as a trainer, I like how he enjoys the game. He gives something back to the group [with his passion] so I look forward to working with him.”

Klopp is also keen to start working with the Dutchman, which is why he is flying out almost immediately to join the rest of the squad.

“I think he can be a great player for us,” said the manager. “He has already shown some really good moments in his career but the most exciting and important thing for me and my staff is that there is still so much extra to come from him.

“When I talked to him I could tell that he knows we have to work together to get this level out of him to all be successful for the team.

“He has played a lot for his country already, been captain at a young age in Holland and also been involved in a tough Premier League season, so this experience gives him a good foundation for the challenge here, which everybody knows is huge.

“He can play a few positions for us and players that come through the Dutch system usually have a good tactical understanding and flexibility. 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.”

(Guardian service)