Georginio Wijnaldum has revealed former Liverpool team-mate Mohamed Salah was among those who advised him to join Jose Mourinho's Roma.
Having left Liverpool for Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer last year, Wijnaldum headed to Roma on a season-long loan deal last week.
Wijnaldum lifted the Champions League and Premier League trophies during a successful five-year spell at Anfield, but his impact was limited during a frustrating 2021-22 campaign in the French capital.
While the Netherlands international made 38 appearances in all competitions for PSG last season, fellow midfielders Danilo Pereira (2,623), Marco Verratti (2,621) and Idrissa Gueye (2,043) all played more than his total of 1,992 minutes for the Ligue 1 winners.
After becoming the latest arrival of a busy transfer window at the Stadio Olimpico, Wijnaldum said former Giallorossi winger Salah, alongside Kevin Strootman and PSG wing-back Achraf Hakimi, encouraged him to move to Italy.
"First of all, I wanted to come because of the effort the club put in to sign me as a player," Wijnaldum told a news conference on Tuesday.
"Also, I spoke with Mo Salah and Kevin Strootman about Roma, about the club and the city, and I only heard good stories about it.
"I even spoke with Achraf Hakimi about it, even though he played at Inter Milan, he said [Roma] was a beautiful club and a beautiful place and I would be happy here. So that convinced me a lot.
"I know the club, we played them twice when I was at Liverpool [in the Champions League in 2018], and the atmosphere at the Olimpico was amazing – so I knew that I would be playing for a club with a great atmosphere and beautiful supporters.
"But that was basically the only thing I knew, so I asked for some advice from Mo and Strootman and they had good stories."
Wijnaldum has joined the likes of Nemanja Matic and Paulo Dybala in signing for Roma ahead of the new Serie A campaign, and added the influence of Mourinho was another factor in his decision to head to Italy.
"When I arrived, we spoke more about football things. I think his record as a manager speaks for itself," the midfielder said of the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss.
"The things he did in football, the prizes he won and the clubs he managed, it's unbelievable.
"I think every player wants to work with him and I am the same. From the moment I spoke to him, I told myself I really wanted to join the club – but that was the case even before.
"I think the thing that convinced me the most was the amount of effort the club, through Mr [director of football, Tiago] Pinto and the manager, put in to sign me. At that moment I felt really wanted and appreciated by the club and that helped me make the decision."
Shaw, Brown headline 24-member squad called up for Reggae Girlz camp set for June 11-20
Concacaf Women’s Player of the Year, Khadija Shaw, and Florida State’s Jody Brown are among 24 women who were called up for a JFF camp, the federation announced on Saturday.
Shaw is coming off the best season of her career, so far, for Manchester City in which she scored 31 goals in 30 games in all competitions.
Brown has been instrumental in guiding the Seminoles to a 17-3-3 record so far this season.
The players will go into camp from June 11th to June 20th.
The full roster of players and staff is as follows:
Sydney Schneider, Rebecca Spencer, Liya Brooks, Allyson Swaby, Chantelle Swaby, Satara Murray, Konya Plummer, Deneisha Blackwood, Tiernny Wiltshire, Tiffany Cameron, Vyan Sampson, Peyton McNamara, Drew Spence, Atlanta Primus, Khadija Shaw, Jody Brown, Solai Washington, Kameron Simmonds, Kalyssa Van-Zanten, Trudi Carter, Rachel Jones, Paige Bailey-Gayle, Mikayla Dayes, Giselle Washington.
Crystal Walters (Team Manager), Lorne Donaldson (Head Coach), Laurie Thomas (Asst. Coach) Xavier Gilbert (Asst. Coach), Alyssa Whitehead (GK Coach), Sanford Carabin (Performance Analyst), Will Hitzelberger (Performance Staff), Dr. Gillian Lawrence (Team Doctor), Saundria Codling (Physiotherapist), Devin Lawson (Masseur), Omar "Twin" Folkes (Equipment Manager).
Attacking Postecoglou suits Spurs' style, says King
Ange Postecoglou has an attacking style of play that will suit Tottenham ideally, according to club icon Ledley King.
It was confirmed this week that Postecoglou will leave Celtic to take charge of Tottenham on a four-year contract.
The 57-year-old spent two years with the Scottish champions and departs after winning a domestic treble in 2022-23.
Australian Postecoglou will take charge of a Spurs team that struggled to eighth place in the Premier League and will not play in Europe next season.
But King is taking an optimistic stance about what can be achieved under the new Spurs boss.
"He is a very good manager and he had a fantastic time at Celtic," said King, who was speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive kit launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace.
"He is a front-foot manager who loves to play attacking football and score plenty of goals and I think he is someone that suits our style. Also, developing young players is really important.
"I'm looking forward to him starting his reign and I think it's important that we sorted it early. He's just finished the [Scottish Cup] final with Celtic and we've been able to get over the line, the deal has been sorted. Now we know what direction we're moving in.
"If I look through our history, we've always had players that want to go on the front foot, express themselves, and score goals – that has just been in the DNA of the football club.
"And, of course, to develop young players. We always have to see players given an opportunity. So I think for these reasons, it'd be a big hit with the fans.
"If you're an attacking player, the thought of that is fantastic. I know that players want to play, they want to play with the ball. They want to be dictating games – that is what players want to do.
"They want to play in a team that is enjoyable to play in and plays good, stylish football. We have a manager that plays that style.
"I'm sure the players are excited and will be looking forward to pre-season."
Conte was sacked in late March, with Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason taking temporary charge.
There was a dismal finish to the season, but King pointed out Tottenham had spent much of the campaign in the battle for a top-four finish and is hopeful there will be a prompt recovery from a disappointing year.
He added: "It was a difficult season. Obviously, there were a lot of different reasons.
"There's a World Cup that came in the middle of the season. Then Conte had a few health issues and he lost a coach during the season.
"So it was not an easy season, but I would say that the team, for most of the season, was in and around the top four.
"It is a talented group and now the new manager coming in has a chance to look at the whole group.
"The players that have been on loan get a chance to impress him and for him he has a chance to see who we can move forward with."
Live – Treble-chasing Manchester City face Inter Milan in Champions League final
1600 – Good afternoon and welcome to the PA news agency’s Champions League final blog. Stay here for all the build-up, key match action and post-game reaction as Manchester City and Inter Milan slog it out in Istanbul.
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