Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has been named as his successor for club and country after another lackluster season, this time with the Dutch international.
Van Dijk, like most other Liverpool stars, has been criticized for his recent form with the Reds as manager Arne Slott struggles to get anything resembling the team’s best, backed by summer signings worth £420m who won the title last season.
The Reds captain has come forward this season to defend himself from Wayne Rooney and other Premier League pundits, but Dutch media have slammed the 34-year-old following Friday’s 1-1 draw between the Netherlands and Poland.
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Ronald Koeman’s side missed out on a chance to secure a place in next summer’s World Cup, but Memphis Depay’s equalizer almost secured them a spot and they will head into their final match against Lithuania with a 12-goal advantage and three points ahead of Group G leaders Poland.
Football Orange gave Van Dijk a score of 5.5 out of 10, claiming that his “lack of pace allowed him to score” and “let the ball go out of play when he tried to play forward.”
De Telegraaf said he was “wrong in position”, but AD insisted he “wasn’t very sharp and probably could have done better to close the gap”.
After the match, Koeman refused to name names, but claimed that “several players” were involved in Jakub Kaminski’s goal.
“I looked at the goal again. It was 5-on-2 and some guys weren’t doing their jobs,” he said.
“Of course, we should never have scored after that, something happened that shouldn’t have happened.
“We’re not missing one player. We’re playing with four or five here instead of two.”
Micky van de Ven started at left-back for the Dutch national team, but former Chelsea defender Khalid Boulerouz believes the 24-year-old, who has been in great form for Tottenham this season, is the best long-term successor to Van Dijk for both club and country.
“I think he’s the ideal successor to Virgil van Dijk, both for the Dutch national team and for Liverpool,” the former Dutch international told ESPN NL. “And Liverpool aren’t crazy. If they were looking for a world-class left centre-back and had the money, they would go straight to Van de Ven.
“The same goes for the Dutch national team. I think Koeman realized a long time ago that Van Dijk’s successor already exists.
“He (Van de Ven) is really ahead of them. He’s physically strong and incredibly fast. His opponents know that too, so they don’t even try to pass him anymore. He’s a really great player.”
“He can still do better with the ball. He makes mistakes sometimes, but overall I think he’s great.”
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Boulalous has defended Van Dijk amid criticism leveled at the Liverpool captain this season, but questions how long the veteran defender, who signed a new two-year contract in April, can continue to perform at his highest level.
“Virgil remains undisputed in the Dutch national team,” he said. “Liverpool haven’t performed very well lately, but Diogo Jota’s passing has had a big impact on the team.
“Additionally, we’ve had a lot of new players come in. It’s having an impact and you can see that in Van Dijk as well. But despite that, he’s still a world-class player.”
“The question, of course, is what Virgil will do after the World Cup. Playing in the Premier League for so many years has taken its toll. He might want a bit of a break.”
Liverpool team-mate Ryan Grabenbirch was also far from his best against Poland and was branded a ‘lazy’ by former Nottingham Forest and Celtic striker Pierre van Hooydonk.
“That’s laziness, because you think the ball won’t fall there anyway,” he said on NOS, via Voetbal International, while watching a clip of Grabenwerch. “When you have a lot of possession against a team like that, you actually feel like you have a false advantage.”
