Liverpool have beaten Manchester United to the signing of Cody Gakpo, with the club officially announcing the Dutch international’s arrival.

The Reds have confirmed a deal worth up to £45m with PSV Eindhovenhaving acted quickly to take over the striker after his impressive performances at the World Cup.

Liverpool are next in action against Leicester on Friday 30 December but Gakpo won’t be able to feature there, as he won’t officially become a Reds player until January 1.

But he should be available to make his debut next week, with the first possible outing at Brentford on Monday January 2.

Still, his work permit may not have been approved that quickly, and the fact that the Dutch transfer window only opens on January 3 could further complicate matters.

Speaking to the media, Klopp said: “What I’ve heard now – so obviously we’re very early on, which is good – there could be a chance for Brentford.

“But I don’t really think so, because January 1 is a public holiday and, all the paperwork, other people have to sign on the 2 until noon.

“I’m not too sure that will happen!

“We won’t rush anyway, so probably [against] Wolves.”

This means Gakpo’s likeliest arc to Liverpool will be a third-round draw at home to Wolves on Saturday, January 7.

Here are the transfer rules explained…

Can players be registered outside the transfer window?

The transfer window officially open until January 1, 2023.

Players can be signed outside of the transfer window, but they cannot be officially registered until the window is open.

This means that the recently announced new signings – including Matheus Cunha of Wolves and Garang Kuol of Newcastle – cannot play for their new clubs until the window officially opens.

When can a new recruit be registered to play?

Once the January transfer window opens, players can be registered until it closes on January 31.

But there are strict rules regarding matches and the submission of teams before matches.

All new signings must be registered by 12:00 p.m. the day before their new team’s game.

So if someone is signed on Friday before their new team plays on Saturday, they will need to be signed up by noon on Friday.

But if the team plays on Sunday or Monday, the player must be registered on Saturday or Sunday at 12 noon at the latest.

What about the Champions League and European competitions? Can January signings play it?

Clubs playing in the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League Round of 16 are allowed to register a maximum of three new eligible players over the winter.

Clubs in European competitions simply need to ensure they communicate any desired squad changes by 11pm on Thursday 2 February.

Since 2018/19, it doesn’t matter if new signings have already played in the competition for another club, or even for another club still in competition.

Gakpo has played for PSV in both the Champions League and Europa League qualifying rounds proper this season.

But he will still be free to play for Liverpool against Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16, with the first leg taking place in February and the second in March.