With Georginio Wijnaldum having completed a medical on Tyneside this afternoon, Chief Sports Writer Scott Wilson lifts the lid on Newcastle's proposed £15m signing

 

So who is he?

Newcastle’s £15m man is a 24-year-old Dutchman who already boasts more than 300 senior appearances in Dutch football and has won 19 international caps.

Born in Rotterdam, to parents of Surinamese descent, Wijnaldum was something of a child prodigy, becoming the youngest player to appear in Feyenoord’s first team when he made his debut as a 16-year-old in a 2007 match against Groningen.

He spent four years with Feyenoord before completing a €5m move to PSV Eindhoven in 2011. Last season, he was the skipper of the PSV side that claimed the Eredivisie title.

 

Is he worth his €20m price tag?

Time will tell, but there’s no doubt that Newcastle have managed to land one of the most highly-rated attacking midfielders in Europe.

Liverpool and Manchester United were both heavily linked with Wijnaldum when he moved to PSV in 2011, and the last four seasons have seen the likes of Arsenal, Ajax and Everton all linked with the midfielder.

Last season, Wijnaldum won the Dutch Player of the Year award, and he boasts 60 senior goals during his time at Feyenoord and PSV. There are no guarantees in football, but his credentials could hardly be stronger.

 

Where will he play?

That is an interesting question. His best performances for PSV have come in the ‘number ten’ role, and most observers regard that as his optimum position.

However, Newcastle already have a fit-again Siem de Jong hoping to play behind a lone striker, and it is hard to see how both players could be accommodated in the same position.

Wijnaldum could play in a wider role, as he has on occasion for Holland, but surely you don’t come close to breaking your club’s transfer record to sign someone, only to then play him out of position?

 

Is there anything else worth knowing about him?

Wijnaldum comes from a footballing family. He is the cousin of former Real Madrid and Everton midfielder Royston Drenthe, his younger brother, Giliano, plays for Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles, and his half-brother, Rajiv van La Parra, is a winger with Wolves.

Interestingly, he used to be known as Georginio Boateng, because his mother was married to someone with the surname Boateng. However, he reverted to Wijnaldum, which is his mother’s last name by birth.

He is nicknamed ‘Gini’, and scored Holland’s second goal as they beat Brazil 3-0 in the third-placed play-off at the last World Cup finals.