Liverpool have agreed a deal with Newcastle United for the transfer of Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum. The 25-year-old was subject to a £25 million bid from Jurgen Klopp's men early on Thursday morning and flew to Liverpool to complete the signing and the rest of the formalities.
Liverpool's £25 million bid includes a player fee of £23 million plus a £1 million appearance-related add-on fee along with an additional £1 million for various targets that he could achieve with the club.
The 2014/15 Dutch Player of the Year signed for Newcastle in a deal worth £14.5 million but since their relegation from the Premier League, has looked for the right club and opportunity to get back into England's elite competition. Having played for the Toons against Doncaster in a pre-season friendly, Wijnaldum flew down to Merseyside after his club accepted Liverpool's bid.
Rafael Benitez, the current manager of Newcastle, was rumoured to want Lucas Leiva as part of the deal but will now have to negotiate the transfer as a separate deal failing to agree to certain terms with Jurgen Klopp's men over the transfer of the Brazilian.
Liverpool are also said to be closing in on the deal that sees Joe Allen leave to Stoke City for around £13 million. The 26-year-old Welshman – who was excellent in the UEFA European Championships 2016 – will be leaving the Merseyside club after four years with the club.
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There might be more departures from Liverpool this season with strikers Divock Origi and Christian Benteke targets for multiple clubs across Europe. The former is a target for Atletico Madrid – who failed to sign former star Diego Costa from Chelsea – who want Origi to lead their lines starting this season.
Christian Benteke's Liverpool fairytale has more or less come to an end with West Ham United, Stoke City and a host of Bundesliga clubs interested in signing the big Belgian. Klopp has already signed Sadio Mane, Loris Karius, Ragnar Klavan, Alex Manninger and Joel Matip this season although the latter signed a pre-contract back in January.
Wijnaldum is now expected to fly to US to meet up with the rest of the squad. The Reds will participate in the International Champions Cup and will play Chelsea and AC Milan as a part of the tournament before wrapping up their tour of the United States with a friendly against AS Roma.
