Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been offering advice to young teammate Ki-Jana Hoever.

Reds assistant coach Pep Lijnders has revealed Van Dijk has been happy to act as a role model to the 17 year-old.

“Defending without communicating cannot be called defending. And he does it very well. He makes sure that we can play more aggressively and enter the ball more easily from the back," Lijnders told NOS.

"You can't have a better role model as a central defender. When covering, trying to get in front of you, giving cover to the fullbacks, playing man-to-man in your own box.

"But he can also teach him a lot about things after the field. How you deal with the media, how you deal with the people within the club.

"He can offer confidence, but at the same time be critical of his teammates as a leader."