Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum has revealed how he was forced to prove himself at Newcastle United, despite arriving there as a Dutch champion.
The midfielder has been speaking to Algemeen Dagblad about Arne Slot’s arrival at Liverpool and how he’ll have to start from scratch despite his achievements in the Netherlands.
Wijnaldum knows all about moving from the Eredivisie to England after joining Newcastle United from PSV Eindhoven in 2015.
He arrived in the North East as someone who had enjoyed plenty of success in his home country, winning the KNVB Cup with Feyenoord in 2007/08 before going to PSV Eindhoven.
His time there saw him win the Eredivisie in 2014/15, the KNVB Cup in 2011/12 and the Johan Cruyff Shield in 2012, while he had also been named the Rotterdam Talen of the Year in 2007 and the Dutch Football of the Years in 2014/15.
It meant he was joining Newcastle as something of an established player, to say the least, and certainly not one who had anything to prove in terms of what he’d achieved.
He, though, insists that wasn’t the case and all of his previous achievements were pretty much ignored when he arrived at St James Park.
“It doesn’t matter at all that they don’t all know him (Slot) inside and out in England,” he said.
“When I went from PSV to Newcastle United, I had become Dutch champion, I was already playing in the Dutch national team and we were playing European football, but I didn’t think it meant anything to the people there.
“The Premier League is so big and so good; they don’t really look at other countries.
“It is a bit comparable to what I experience now playing football outside Europe. People just don’t care that much.”
