Wim Kieft is of the opinion that Virgil van Dijk should be woken up to Liverpool and the Dutch national team. The former soccer player notes that tactical discipline is currently not a high priority for the defender annex Dutch national team. “He needs to be put back on the ground with two feet on the ground”, Kieft emphasizes Saturday in his column in The Telegraph.

“He’s not sharp, behaves with the Orange and Liverpool as the arriving celebrity, the great coaching leader, who shows a little too much that he doesn’t like his fellow players”, Kieft lists in the newspaper. “At the same time, he plays lazily and nonchalantly. He makes mistakes and runs away too often from the defensive handiwork in matches. With his status, he’s got to be at the forefront of the fight.”

“It took Van Dijk a long time to reach the international top level. He’s standing there for about two seasons now, but it’s important that Van Dijk remains very critical of himself. His surroundings also have an important role to play in this. It’s not bad if his trainers shake him up quite a bit.” Memphis Depay also lacks tactical discipline ‘quite often’ when he puts on the shirt of the Dutch national team, Kieft observes. “With his prestige, he takes too much of his freedom.”

The probable transfer to Barcelona marks Depays development and is his second chance at the European summit, Kieft states. The former attacker emphasizes that Depay has the personality, mental resilience and qualities to make it in Spain. “It’s not such a big gamble for Koeman and business at all. If you can pick up an attacker of the caliber Depay for thirty million euros or that you have to pay 45 million euros for a defender like Nathan Aké, then you hardly take any risks with the purchase of Depay”.

“If Depay can muster the discipline to play a free role as the deepest striker, he possesses the technical and physical qualities, without wandering around, the combination with Lionel Messi may work out well. If he can focus, then he has enough potential”, concludes Kieft.