Everton transfer news: Newcastle star Georginio Wijnaldum might follow Ronald Koeman to blue half of Merseyside
Touted Goodison Park manager is a big admirer of the 25-year-old Dutch international midfielder and wants him to join him
DUTCHMAN Ronald Koeman could make countryman Georginio Wijnaldum one of his first signings should he be appointed Everton boss.
Koeman, 53, has been the favourite to take over at the Toffees since Roberto Martinez was sacked in May and he’s wanted to land the Newcastle midfielder before now.
And should Koeman get the job as expected, Wijnaldum’s short stay on Tyneside could be over.
Koeman is a big fan of Wijnaldum and was keen to get him while he was in charge at Southampton.
That deal never materialised – now it could.
Wijnaldum joined the Toon from PSV Eindhoven for £14.5million last summer and impressed in his debut Premier League campaign.
The 25-year-old scored 11 goals – he was the leading scorer- and created 48 chances in 38 league appearances.
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It was not enough to prevent the Magpies from slipping into the Championship but the Dutch international could soon find himself back in the top-flight.
And he admitted he wanted to play in it before Holland’s friendly against Austria in Vienna on Saturday.
He said: “Of course I want to play at as high a level as possible, in the Premier League, with a beautiful club – but not everything always goes the way you want. I will see what happens.
“The strange thing is that I have very nice statistics for a midfielder, despite relegation.
“I was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, only the numbers were worthless. That was a shame.”
And those sentiments may not have fallen on deaf ears, judging by the number of Premier League scouts watching the game.
Sunderland, Arsenal, West Brom, Everton and Southampton were all represented.