Tottenham and West Ham both could use Newcastle attacker Georginio Wijnaldum if his side is relegated
In the event that Newcastle United suffers relegation, star attacker Georginio Wijnaldum is going to become a very wanted man. The Brentwood Gazette reports that Tottenham and West Ham will be at the top of a long list of clubs who will want to sign the Dutch attacker. Which club would be better for the former PSV man?
The case for Tottenham
Wijnaldum would join a Spurs side that is a mortal lock to participate in the Champions League next season. That’s an awfully big carrot for a 25-year-old player who is currently fighting relegation.
Despite their success this season, Tottenham is far from a finished product in term of their offensive personnel. The starting trio of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Erik Lamela has been good, but not great. The bench options of Nacer Chadli and Son Heung-Min have been mediocre at best. Wijnaldum would project to at least break into a rotation with the starting trio.
His style of play also happens to be a perfect fit for manager Mauricio Pochettino’s high-pressing system. He’s a very energetic player who has the legs to run for days. That quality comes in handy when playing for Spurs’ Argentine boss.
He also has the versatility that the Spurs boss covets in his attacking midfielders. He’s been deployed equally between a central and left-sided attacking position for the Magpies. That shows he has the ability to interchange with Tottenham’s current attackers as they like to do throughout the match.
Wijnaldum has the scoring prowess to make a real difference for Tottenham. He’s scored nine Premier League goals on the year for Newcastle and even managed four in one match earlier this season. He’d find a home at White Hart Lane and would be a terrific fit at Tottenham.
The case for West Ham
Wijnaldum would face an easier path towards a starting place at West Ham. He would be an obvious starter in Slaven Bilic’s attacking midfield along side Hammer stars Dimitri Payet and Manuel Lanzini. He would be a clear upgrade over the club’s other options.
He’s also a terrific stylistic fit with West Ham. His speed would help provide more space for Payet and Lanzini. He would also find himself on the receiving end of their terrific passes. Even without the presence of a top-class number nine, Wijnaldum would give them enough firepower to form a very prolific attack.
The challenge in picking West Ham is the fact that they likely will not have Champions League football to attract the Newcastle star. It’s not impossible, but the odds are not in the Hammers’ favor at the current point in time.
West Ham will need to convince Wijnaldum that they have a better chance of continuing their upward trajectory under Bilic than Spurs do under Pochettino. That could be an extremely tough sell given the resource difference between the two clubs.
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The right choice
Wijnaldum would be wise to choose West Ham in this scenario. He’s a good player, but it would be easy for him to get lost in the shuffle at Tottenham. For Slaven Bilic, he would almost certainly walk right into the starting 11, for Pochettino, he would be more of a rotational piece. Wijnaldum would be wise to select the sure playing time at West Ham.