Sunderland Act Quickly To Try And Beat Newcastle And Manchester United To Dutch Player Of The Year

Newcastle United and Sunderland are locked in a fierce battle to secure Georginio Wijnaldum€™s signature this summer - with the Black Cats currently favourites to pip their North-East rivals at the post after an £11 million bid as they act quickly in a bid to hold off interest from Manchester United. Wijnaldum has already been capped 18 times by Holland, scoring twice, and is regarded as one of the most-promising players in Europe due to the fact he has a habit of regularly finding the back of the net. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf claim PSV Eindhoven want around £14 million for the Eredivisie€™s player of the season for 2014-15 and that the Black Cats have already made an £11 million bid for a player (according to the Press Association).

Both Newcastle and Sunderland would hope to negotiate down that fee, with Liverpool also interested, but if Van Gaal does up his pursuit Wijnaldum then the bidding process could go through the roof. It is also believed that Dick Advocaat would be willing to ask the Sunderland board to break the club's transfer record for the midfielder, so determined is he to secure Wijnaldum's signature. The 24-year-old is keen to move to the Premier League this summer and it is likely that his links to Sunderland€™s Dutch coach Advocaat could play a key role in luring him to the Stadium of Light. However, Magpies head coach Steve McClaren also has an extensive understanding of the Dutch market - having managed FC Twente twice - and so both he and chief scout Graham Carr could yet convince Wijnaldum that St James€™ Park is the North-East ground he should ply his trade at next season.

Wijnaldum has already won three trophies with PSV and has made 152 appearances, scoring an impressive 56 times from midfield and contributing 23 assists, since moving there from Feyenoord in 2011. The midfielder also netted for Holland during the 3-0 third-place play-off win over Brazil at last year€™s World Cup. But which North-East Premier League ground will he be strutting his stuff at next season - if either? Should Van Gaal enter the bidding war then it appears Wijnaldum would be Old Trafford-bound instead... For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.