Georginio Wijnaldum is prepared for his move to Newcastle United

Posted Sunday, July 12, 2015 by ESPN

Georginio Wijnaldum is prepared for his move to Newcastle United
After captaining PSV Eindhoven to an Eredivisie crown, Georginio Wijnaldum will be tasked with sparking Newcastle's midfield back to life.

When PSV Eindhoven lifted their first Dutch Eredivisie trophy in seven years at the end of last season, one thing was more certain than anything else: There were going to be sales in the summer transfer window.

It started with Memphis Depay, who agreed to a move to Manchester United in early May. But even with the press' attention diverted, PSV fans were aware there was another player who deserved almost as much attention as Louis van Gaal's new acquisition. That player was Georginio Wijnaldum.

Wijnaldum, who at the age of 24 is young but not inexperienced, had reached the point all talented Dutch footballers hope to reach: He had developed into one of the best players in the league. Looking to start a new phase in his career, he was keen to find a bigger contract in a bigger league.

Not unlike Depay, Wijnaldum was instrumental in PSV's recent success in the Netherlands. Taking his duties as captain seriously, he had taken on a leading role in the squad, translating the ideas manager Phillip Cocu had been working on for the past two years into concrete action on the pitch.

The road Wijnaldum had to travel to get there was never an easy one. Moving from Feyenoord to PSV in 2011, the Rotterdam-born midfielder had to leave his childhood club behind in order to keep his development on track.

Undoubtedly this was a very difficult decision to make, but more than likely it was also the right one. In recent years, Feyenoord have had difficulties challenging for the title, and as the Eredivisie now seems to be ruled solely by Ajax and PSV, Wijnaldum needed to move on to get the type of high-level experience Feyenoord could no longer offer him.

Then there were the difficulties during his first year at his new club. Used to playing close to the striker as a traditional No. 10, Wijnaldum was asked to adapt to a different style of play when Cocu took charge of PSV in 2012. Rather than acting as an auxiliary attacker, Wijnaldum now had to modernise his game as a central midfielder.