'Ronald Koeman will be very concerned about Virgil van Dijk ahead of the World Cup'

Arno Vermeulen saw Virgil van Dijk really struggling last weekend. The centre-back suffered a heavy defeat with Liverpool against Manchester City: 4-0. The analyst voiced his concerns on the football talk show Studio Voetbal.

Manchester City steamrolled Liverpool on Saturday afternoon. A hat-trick from Erling Haaland and a goal from Antoine Semenyo saw Arne Slot’s side knocked out of the FA Cup without a chance.

Mohamed Salah also missed a penalty for the Reds. Whilst Slot’s side started the match reasonably well, they completely fell apart after the break. Defensively, they looked far from stable, as Vermeulen also observed.

“Ronald Koeman will be very concerned about Virgil van Dijk,” says the regular panellist on Studio Voetbal. Van Dijk is the captain and undisputed leader of the Dutch national team. This summer, he will have to lead his team to a successful World Cup.

However, Vermeulen has his doubts about the 34-year-old from Breda. “If you saw the pace of City’s attackers and how Van Dijk moves, you shouldn’t give away too much space at a World Cup,” said the outgoing head of football at the NOS.

Vermeulen suspects that Van Dijk also faces a gruelling week at Liverpool. “They’re off to Paris soon,” he says, referring to the Champions League clash with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain. “They’ve got a few quick lads running around there!”

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