Player Focus: What Newcastle Fans can Expect from Georginio Wijnaldum

The phrase silly season is often used to describe the transfer window but as far as the Premier League is concerned it's perhaps never been so apt. The dramatic increase in TV revenue shared between the clubs has meant that those usually overpowered in the transfer market are beginning to show more ambition.

Andre Ayew's arrival at Swansea - albeit on a free transfer - was arguably the first real coup of the window, with Dimitri Payet's move to West Ham following shortly after. This week Yohan Cabaye sealed a sensational move - as far as the Eagles are concerned at least - to Palace, while Villa are reportedly closing in on the top performers from Lille and Nice respectively in Idrissa Gueye and Jordan Amavi.

It's clear that Premier League scouts are still casting a keen eye on events across the pond, with Ligue 1 often stripped of its top prospects,who cannot resist the financial lure of England's top-flight. One team, however, that seem to have cast their net a little further this season, previously dealing almost exclusively with French clubs, is Newcastle.

The Magpies were one of a few clubs yet to make a move in the transfer window but PSV confirmed on Friday that captain Georginio Wijnaldum had been allowed to travel to Tyneside to thrash out a deal in the region of £14.5m, with the player now having completed a medical. It represents a real statement of intent from the club, not least due to the lofty fee, but the midfielder adds a quality that has been lacking in the Newcastle side since the departure of the aforementioned Cabaye.

Last season the Magpies would end the campaign with the likes of fit-again pairing Jonas Gutierrez and Ryan Taylor in the engine room, with both players released at the end of the campaign. Jack Colback proved an astute acquisition but looked tired come the final months of the season, while Moussa Sissoko under-performed by his standards and Cheick Tiote suffered from numerous injury problems to start just 10 league matches.

Wijnaldum will add goals to an area of the pitch that just wasn't contributing enough last season, and is a player that new manager Steve McLaren will have seen plenty of during his time in the Eredivisie.

For many, however, their first glimpse of the 24-year-old will have been at the World Cup, where the Netherlands performed beyond the expectations of many under the tutelage of Louis van Gaal. The PSV man made 7 appearances in Brazil, starting 5 times for the Oranje, with a goal in the third-place play-off against the hosts - which happened to be assisted by Newcastle's Daryl Janmaat - certainly the highlight in an otherwise solid but unspectacular showing at the tournament.

In truth Wijnaldum's greatest asset was somewhat sacrificed for the good of the team, with the young midfielder playing more of a withdrawn, disciplined role in the side due to the inclusion of Wesley Sneijder. A rating of 6.92 from WhoScored.com represented a decent input but Newcastle fans can expect more from the Dutchman once he completes his move to St. James' Park.

Wijnaldum's progression to Eredivisie-winning captain has been slick. Naturally gifted and athletic from a young age, his is part of a talented family as far as football is concerned. Wijnaldum's younger brother Giliano plays with the Go Ahead Eagles whilst his half-brother Rajiv van La Parra and cousin Royston Drenthe have both made the move to England, doing so with Everton and Wolves respectively.

Georginio, born and raised in Rotterdam, made the natural progression when it comes to local talent in the area, beginning his youth career with Sparta before earning a switch to Eredivisie giants Feyenoord. Making his professional debut for the club way back in 2007, Wijnaldum remains the youngest player ever to feature for the club at just 16, but would leave his hometown for the first time in 2011 to make the switch to PSV. It would take him just three matches to net his first goal for his new side and it was an early sign of things to come, ending the campaign with an impressive 8 goals. In 2012/13 that tally would rise to 14, which is a feat he matched last season after an injury hit 2013/14 campaign.

It's an ability to pick up goalscoring positions, making intelligent runs from midfield, that is undoubtedly his real strength. Many may view him as an attacking midfielder, despite playing in a three in the middle of the park last season, but he’s not your typical number 10 – despite donning that number – by any means. It's his understanding of how and when to run off of markers to score goals, rather than create them, that has enabled him to become one of the hottest prospects in Dutch football.

Wijnaldum's movement allows him to find pockets of space and once he loses his opponent the midfielder invariably surges forward to try and get himself into the box. Given that all 14 of his Eredivisie goals last season came from inside the penalty area, it's clear that the midfielder isn't a scorer of spectacular goals, but was involved in most of PSV's best team efforts, often finishing them off himself. It's a big call to say that Wijnaldum would be in the same category as someone like Frank Lampard, but his playing style is not too dissimilar.

Best with at least one defensive grafter alongside him - perhaps in the Colback mould - the Dutch international doesn't get through a great deal of work in terms of breaking (1 tackle per game) or building up play (33.1 passes per game). Instead what he offers is a positive drive, looking for the forward pass more often than the short sideways option, and capable of beating his man with the ball (1.9 dribbles per game) using impressive upper body strength.

An overall WhoScored rating of 7.47 was bettered by only 10 players in the Eredivisie last season and considerably in advance of any Newcastle player. Of course, the step up should not be taken lightly but Wijnaldum will offer something completely different to this Newcastle side and finding the right blend in midfield to accentuate his strengths will be key to any success.

Any player with an eye for goal is always a welcome addition and Wijnaldum is exactly that. His signing represents an impressive first splash in the transfer window for Newcastle, and if links to the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic are to be believed then there could yet be exciting times ahead for a group of fans that deserve better than the dire straits of last season.

How many goals do you think Wijnaldum will score for Newcastle next season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below