Virgil van Dijk needs to get back towards his best for Liverpool if he wants to lead the Netherlands into next summer's World Cup, according to one Dutch football writer.
The Liverpool skipper is ranked at No.3 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League defenders of all time, but has come under fire amid a dreadful run of form for Arne Slot's side.
Virgil van Dijk at risk of sliding down pecking order
Journalist Henk Spaan has claimed that Manchester United's Matthijs de Ligt and Arsenal's Jurien Timber should both be ahead of Van Dijk in contention for a place in Ronald Koeman's side as the Netherlands build towards the 2026 World Cup.
Van Dijk has been captain of the national team since 2018, but has at times been criticised in his home country amid a feeling that he is rarely as good for the Netherlands as he is for Liverpool.
With Van Dijk now also coming in for criticism for his club form, Spaan believes that Koeman should be considering his options when it comes to who will make up his defence at next year's World Cup.
That comes in spite of the fact that the Dutch have kept five clean sheets in six games in qualifying and will be guaranteed a place at the tournament if they win their next game, against Poland in two weeks.
It should be noted that Spaan is a long-standing critic of Van Dijk's and rarely wastes an opportunity to call for the centre-back to be pulled from the national team.
For instance, Spaan was one of a number of Dutch talking heads to call for van Dijk to be dropped for the Netherlands' semi-final with England at Euro 2024, which would have been a ridiculously ballsy move to say the least.
As Soccer News report, Spaan was at it again this week, suggesting Van Dijk's place is at threat from a pair of Premier League rivals. He said: "England is buzzing about Timber and De Ligt.
"Until recently, [Timber] would thunder past Bukayo Saka, who would cut inside, but now he plays a bit more forward on the inside, allowing Saka to stay on the wing.
[De Ligt's] form is improving every week. The forward movement of [Matheus] Cunha and [Bryan] Mbeumo also helps the defence enormously and gives Fernandes more freedom of movement.
"I think Timber and De Ligt are keeping a close eye on Virgils form.
In FourFourTwo's view, Spaan might actually have a germ of a point this time, even if it's a case of a stopped clock being right twice a day.
Van Dijk unquestionably looks a long way short of the practically invincible defender who won every plaudit going during his prime years.
The centre-back's decline has been gradual over the past few years, with the serious knee injury that kept him out for much of the 2020/21 season marking a bit of an inflection point.
But even with the World Cup just seven months away, there is a lot of football to be played before the end of the season - and yet the tournament is also close enough that it would seem a bit rash for Koeman to drop one of his most trusted generals.
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