Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk played a key role in persuading Cody Gakpo to join Liverpool, according to reports in the Dutch media.
The Reds have agreed a deal to sign the forward from PSV, with the transfer set to officially go through once the January market opens for business this weekend.
Liverpool will pay an initial £37m for the Netherlands international, who is valued at £53.1m by Transfermarkt.
Gakpo, who was previously linked with a move to Manchester United, impressed at World Cup 2022, scoring three goals for Louis van Gaal's side as they reached the quarter-finals.
Only Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Julian Alvarez and Olivier Giroud found the back of the net more often than the Dutchman, who has scored 13 goals in all competitions for PSV this term.
And according to Eindhovens Dagblad, Van Dijk helped to persuade his countryman to sign on the dotted line with Liverpool, who beat Aston Villa 3-1 on Boxing Day.
The Dutch outlet writes that Gakpo paid close attention to his international team-mate during several conversations about his future.
However, it was not the only reason for the 23-year-old's decision to join Liverpool ahead of several other suitors from around Europe.
'Hopefully the injured players can come back soon, and hopefully we can welcome some new players at our football club.
"We will see. I think that quality is always welcome at Liverpool," Van Dijk said after the victory over Villa on Monday, hinting at what was to come.
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