Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum admits his move to Anfield almost didn't happen - due to manager Jurgen Klopp's pet dog!

Wijnaldum has revealed that he spoke to both Klopp and then-Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino when he was put up for sale by Newcastle in the summer of 2015.

But the Liverpool manager's policy of inviting potential signings to his house for talks almost backfired because it meant Wijnadum got to meet the German's retriever cross, Emma.

Wijnaldum said: “I spoke to Pochettino because he wanted me to come to Spurs.

“But then I also went to see Jurgen Klopp. When I got to Klopp's house, I realised he has a massive dog – and I mean massive!

“Nothing scares me more than a big dog. I am absolutely petrified of dogs. Jurgen did not know that, of course, but there was no way I was going into that house.

“Jurgen had to move the dog to a room where he could not escape.

“Then he helped me relax by talking about my holiday and about all kinds of other things before we even spoke about football.

“We had a great connection and I soon found that we think the same about many things in life and in football.

“That helped – and we still have that."