CalcioMercato claim that Newcastle, West Ham and Aston Villa will battle Atletico Madrid in the summer for PSG star Gini Wijnaldum. The Dutch ace joined PSG from Liverpool, but has endured a tricky campaign in France.
Premier League and Champions League winner Wijnaldum, 31, left Liverpool on a free to link up with Mauricio Pochettino’s side. But after struggling to make an imapct – he was linked an England return in January.
While he has remained at PSG, he has still only completed 90 minutes on six occasions all season – starting just 16 of his 27 appearances. In four games, he has even been an unused sub; this summer could be an interesting one.
CalcioMercato report that his old club Newcastle would like him back on Tyneside – but they face Premier League competition from Aston Villa and West Ham. Diego Simeone’s Atleti are also keen on Wijnaldum.
Newcastle, Villa or West Ham – where could Wijnaldum end up?
Wijnaldum is a player of European calibre and the only of the three sides named that have any chance of finishing in Europe is West Ham. They remain in the hunt for the top four, but could easily get top six.
That might not even be to Wijnaldum’s liking, making Atletico Madrid the firm favourites to land his signature. However, he currently earns £158,000 a week at PSG (Mirror) – and Newcastle are best-placed to afford that.
The emotion of a return to Newcastle, where he scored 11 goals in 40 games, could be tempting – not only financially. The Toon are expected to push on next season, and Wijnaldum might want to be a part of that.
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