Liverpool clinch Georginio Wijnaldum signing in mega £25million deal from Newcastle
GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM hailed the influence of Jurgen Klopp after clinching a £25 million move to Liverpool.
The Dutch ace had been seeking an escape route from relegated Newcastle and Reds boss Klopp has provided it by snapping him up on a five-year deal.
Wijnaldum told Liverpool's official website: “I’m really excited because Liverpool is a big club with a great history and it’s always a dream to play for as big a club as Liverpool.”
“[Klopp 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.”
The 30-cap winger was on Merseyside last night ahead of rubber-stamping his move and undergoing a medical.
And Reds got the deal over the line after boss Klopp beat off competition for his signature from rivals Everton and Tottenham.
The former PSV skipper is now set to link up for Liverpool's pre-season tour of America.
Wijnaldum becomes the Reds' fifth summer signing - and their third this week.
Earlier in the day they snapped up veteran former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger, 39, on a free transfer after the Austrian left Augsburg.
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With defender Mamadou Sakho set to miss the start of the season with an Achilles injury, Klopp moved to strengthen his backline by bringing in Estonia international skipper Ragnar Klavan in a £4.2m deal - also from Augsburg - on Wednesday.
And Wijnaldum is the second mega-money summer signing after Senegal forward Sadio Mane joined for £30m from Southampton earlier this summer.
Goalkeeper Loris Karius - who spurned a Germany Olympics opportunity to fight for a Reds place - was added to the ranks for £4.7m from Klopp's former club Mainz.
And Cameroon defender Joel Matip kick-started Klopp's summer business after penning a deal on a free transfer.
After Manninger joined earlier today, he said: "Honestly, it was a surprise. After these years, in Italy and the last four years in Germany, I hadn’t given up, I hadn’t said ‘that’s it’, I still waited for the phone call.
"When Liverpool was on the phone, it was a great pleasure for me to take it on because it gives me what I was looking for.
"This is the moment I was waiting for until the end."