Liverpool stole a march on their rivals this week when they went ahead and worked out a deal with PSV Eindhoven for the impending signature of Gakpo.
Manchester United were long the favourites to land the Dutch winger and even Gakpo was keen to work under Erik ten Hag.
However, the Red Devils are yet to decide whether they are ready to go through with a move to land the Dutchman and Liverpool took advantage by making a swift move.
And according to Dutch daily the Eindhovens Dagblad, Van Dijk spoke with his Netherlands team-mate to convince him to move to Anfield.
The conversation with the Netherlands captain played a role in helping the winger to make the decision.
Liverpool have agreed to pay a fee of €50m and once the deal goes through, it will be a club-record sale for PSV.
The Reds are looking to put Gakpo through a medical soon and finalise the terms of the deal with his agent.
Jurgen Klopp recently insisted that Luis Diaz’s arrival in January 2022 played a role in propelling his side and Liverpool are now set to land another winger in the winter window.
