LIVERPOOL have signed midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle in a £25million deal.
The Holland international has signed a five-year contract, it is understood, and Liverpool will pay an initial £23million with a further £2million in conditional add-ons. Wijnaldum will travel to Palo Alto in California to join his new team-mates on their tour of the United States over the weekend.
The 25-year-old is manager Jurgen Klopp's seventh signing of the summer, following Loris Karius, Joel Matip, Marko Grujic, Sadio Mane, Ragnar Klavan and Alex Manninger to Anfield. Wijnaldum scored 11 goals in 38 league appearances in his maiden season in England, however Newcastle were relegated.
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.
"[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 Reds boss.
"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."
Meanwhile, Swansea's American investor Jason Levien has confirmed the club's interest in signing Wales midfielder Joe Allen. Liverpool this week accepted a £13million bid from Stoke for the 26-year-old, but his former club could also feature prominently in the market.
Levien and his fellow American Steve Kaplan head up the consortium that has taken a controlling interest in the Swans, sealing a reported £110million deal. And asked about Allen - a player sold by Swansea to Liverpool for £15million in 2012 - at the Liberty Stadium on Friday, Levien said: "He is certainly someone we have discussed.
"Thinking about how additions to the club will fit in with the current structure is something we spend a lot of time on and he is someone who obviously has a great history here. He is still a young player. He is someone who multiple clubs are interested in, us included.
"Huw [Jenkins, Swansea chairman] and I are in ongoing discussions. We are leaning on his [Jenkins'] wisdom and also the right kind of process to figure out whether that's the right addition for us, but he is someone we have our eye on."
Regarding any possible bid for Allen, who shone during Wales' recent run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, Levien added: "I think that is something we are discussing, but we haven't made a definitive bid on him at this point."
