Cape Town - Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has revealed that he wanted to play alongside Andrew Robertson years before joining the Reds.
Van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton in January. Prior to joining Saints in 2015, he played for Celtic, while a young Robertson was making a name for himself at Dundee United.
It was here that Robertson caught van Dijk's eye.
"Obviously when I came to Celtic, in my first season he played at Dundee United and I already thought he's a very good player, and I thought at that time he should join Celtic," van Dijk revealed in Liverpool's end-of-season DVD.
"I think I said it to one of the scouting guys as well - sometimes I like to give my opinion on players. He's just a great player, [he] works hard. If you need ratings of a game, I don't think he'd ever go lower than a six."
Now teammates at Liverpool, van Dijk and Robertson have formed a solid partnership on the left side of the Reds' defence.
"You can trust him and the connection I have with him is getting better every game," van Dijk explained.
"He knows obviously what he has in me, and I get it the other way around as well. He's a good guy as well and that obviously helps too."
24-year-old Robertson made 22 Premier League appearances in 2017/18, while van Dijk, 26, made 14 for Liverpool after his switch from Southampton.