Aston Villa striker Ross McCormack reportedly played a big role in convincing Villa right-back Ritchie De Laet to move Melbourne City, according to the Birmingham Mail.
De Laet joined the A-League side on a season-long loan last week after struggling to break into Steve Bruce's squad this season.
“I knew the gaffer (Warren Joyce) here as well and I spoke a little bit with Ross and Mile (Jedinak)," the defender told the Birmingham Mail.
"They said it was a nice place to be so when the opportunity came I grabbed it.
“They show the A-League in the UK and I was watching some of the games.
"Speaking to Ross about his time here, he really enjoyed it and says the football was really good."
The Belgian was convinced to move to the Australian side by his Villa team-mate McCormack who spent the second half of last season with the club, scoring 14 goals in 16 appearances.
De Laet has been an Aston Villa player since 2016 after joining from Leicester City but has fallen out of favour with manager Steve Bruce this season with just two League Cup appearances to his name.
He is also yet to even make the squad for any of the Villains' league matches so far this campaign.
McCormack himself is set to move back to the A-League with Central Coast Mariners after dropping completely out of favour with Steve Bruce in the summer, report the Daily Mail.
The verdict
It is no real surprise that McCormack spoke highly of his time at Melbourne City.
It was the place where he made a slight resurgence in his career after two disappointing seasons with Villa after all.
Perhaps De Laet has convinced himself that he too can have a similar experience to his Villa teammate.