Virgil van Dijk believes that Cody Gakpo will continue to flourish by learning from the outgoing Roberto Firmino after the Liverpool new boy bagged a brace in Sunday's 7-0 demolition of Manchester United.
Gakpo, 23, has made a steady start to life on Merseyside following his £37million switch in the January transfer window but produced a stellar performance to down United at the weekend. The Dutchman's slick finish on the stroke of half-time started the Reds' historic rout and he scored a stunning second goal shortly after the break.
His performance impressed Anfield icon Jamie Carragher, who claimed the Netherlands international was a "revelation" against the team who were heavily tipped to sign him in the lead up to the January transfer window.
And Gakpo's international colleague Van Dijk has pointed to the influence of Liverpool's outgoing No.9 in the wake of an afternoon where all three of Liverpool's new look forward line, including Gakpo, scored twice.
Speaking after Sunday's match, Van Dijk paid tribute to Firmino, telling The Liverpool Echo : “I think that position of a false 9 is Bobby Firmino’s. He is the one that showed over the years how difficult it is for any other player to perform it but also for others to defend that.
“As a player, you can’t deny how important he is for the success that we had; for Mo [Salah], for Sadio [Mane] in the past but also for the players that still are here, for example, in Cody [Gakpo] to learn from him each and every day. But as a human being as well, he’s a great guy and I wish him obviously all the best after the summer. But for now we still have targets to reach and he knows that and he wants to make sure that we fulfil that as well.
“He’s been so influential for this football club and he should definitely be remembered as one of the legends.”
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After starting the match as a substitute, Firmino compounded Manchester United's misery by netting the game's seventh goal shortly after he was introduced from the bench.
The Brazilian striker's late impact came just 48 hours after reports emerged outlining that the Anfield favourite had informed the club that he would not be renewing his contract at the end of the season.
Jurgen Klopp paid tribute to his striker after the match and referenced the rapturous reception Firmino received from the Anfield faithful after coming onto the pitch.
"It wasn't an easy decision for Bobby, he's top guy," the Reds boss told Sky Sports on Sunday. "The reception he got was absolutely outstanding. I think that was the goal the whole stadium pretty much wanted the most."
