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Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool have signed “a complete footballer” in Georginio Wijnaldum.

The Reds boss is convinced the Dutch international will live up to his price tag after completing a £25million move from Newcastle United.

Wijnaldum, who will link up with the Liverpool squad in California on Saturday, has penned a five-year deal and will wear the No 5 shirt.

Klopp has watched his development with interest for nearly a decade and believes the attacking midfielder has all the qualities required to help spearhead the club’s pursuit of glory.

“He’s a complete footballer,” Klopp told the ECHO.

“He’s good with the ball, he’s really fit, he can run a lot, he’s quick in making decisions and he’s a threat for the goal.

“He’s quite experienced, he was captain of PSV and he became a champion there - he knows about winning championships.

“He’s had some bad moments in his career with injuries and then relegation with Newcastle. No career goes without scars.

“I’ve known him as a player since he was 16 or 17 when I first watched him play for Rotterdam.

“I really like following the journey of these guys, especially the special players and he’s a special player.

“He went from Rotterdam to Feyenoord to Eindhoven. It’s been a good development. He can help us and we can help him.

“He can bring a few things into the team that we didn’t have before.”

Klopp met Wijnaldum face to face to explain why he wanted to take him to Liverpool.

Despite strong interest from Tottenham and Everton, the discussion ended with the 25-year-old making it clear that Anfield was his preferred destination. Klopp had sold him his vision for the future.

A deal between the clubs was quickly thrashed out with Liverpool agreeing to pay Newcastle £23million up front and a further £2million in add-ons.

“I didn’t know him as a person before the meeting,” Klopp said.

“We had a talk and I think after this talk we both knew we wanted to work together.

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“Obviously, I couldn’t just say: ‘Ask for whatever money you want, I’ll do the rest with our owners or whatever...’

“The deal still had to be agreed but we both knew we wanted to do this.

“You will see when you talk to him here. There’s no doubt. He’s 25 with a special story of life and a clear mind.

“He’s fully focused on football and Liverpool is a real club for him.

“I know it’s difficult for our supporters in this moment because it sounds like other players want to come us as they don’t have any other offers.

“But here is a player who really wants to come to us who had other offers. He’s said: ‘okay, this is the right moment in my career, I want to go there and create something special’.”

Wijnaldum’s versatility was one of the reasons why Klopp was so keen to secure his services.

In the manager’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, the Reds boss says the Dutchman would be equally influential as one of the three attackers behind the frontman or as one of his two more defensively minded midfielders.

“For sure he can play in one of those advanced roles or deeper in a two,” Klopp added.

“He can also play either side in a 4-3-3. He can play in five or six different positions. That’s one of the things I really like about him.

“In whatever position he has ever played, he has always been a threat to the goal. That’s what he brings. He never forgets direction. He passes and then he goes.

“He pushes up after he has passed the ball and makes himself an option just a second later. He’s a complete footballer who is nice to have.”

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