Georginio Wijnaldum reveals why he didn't think he'd ever play for Newcastle

The midfielder – who joined the relegation-threatened club from PSV Eindhoven last summer – is Newcastle’s leading scorer with nine goals.

But the 25-year-old is yet to score away from home.

And the Holland international is keen to get off the mark against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

“I love playing in front of our own fans,” said Wijnaldum. “But I’m looking forward to scoring an away goal now.

“I think I need that, but also the team needs it. It’s going to be better for my confidence if I can score an away goal. I want to celebrate in another stadium.”

Wijnaldum – who captained PSV to the Dutch league title last season – didn’t appreciate the size of the club he had joined.

“In the beginning, I never thought that I would play for Newcastle,” said Wijnaldum.

“But my manager told me that this was a big club.

“In Holland we don’t know how big the club is, but this is a really big club. I spoke with the manager, and he gave me a really good feeling to sign.

“After that, I had a good feeling about it and I just followed my heart, that’s why I chose Newcastle

“It’s (been) difficult, because we don’t win a lot of games. Last year, even if we played some bad games, we would win them.”

Wijnaldum’s biggest challenge has been understanding the Geordie accent.

“The people on the street, sometimes they speak Geordie, and when I say ‘sorry?’ they realize I don’t understand, so they speak with less accent so I can,” he told the BBC’s Match of the Day magazine.