Jose Mourinho believes Newcastle United's summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum is talented enough to play for Barclays Premier League Champions Chelsea. The Blues boss did not only single Wijnaldum out for praise, however, also picking out former Magpie Yohan Cabaye and Bournemouth's new signingMax Gradel as he aimed to explain how difficult it is even for the top-four sides to sign players in a highly-competitive market. Wijnaldum arrived on Tyneside from PSV Eindhoven for £14.5 million this summer and the Dutch international is extremely highly rated, most notably because he scored 18 goals in 42 goals as he led the Dutch side to the Eredivisie title in 2014-15.

And, speaking about Wijnaldum and the others, Mourinho told BBC Sport:

"There will be more times when the non-title contenders win matches against the title contenders. "It's also difficult because they have players who could play in our teams - Cabaye (now at Crystal Palace) could play for Chelsea, Wijnaldum could play for Chelsea, Gradel could play for Chelsea."

Wijnaldum will likely make his Premier League debut for Newcastle against Southampton at St James' Park on Sunday - with fellow signings Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba also in with a chance of starting the game. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCulture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.