Virgil van Dijk may be forced to go against Liverpool’s wishes as the Netherlands maintain hopes of picking the injured Reds star for Euro 2020.
The Dutch captain is still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained when he was on the wrong end of a wild Jordan Pickford challenge way back in October.
His season was over after that and Liverpool have suffered hugely in his absence: even finishing in the top four is beginning to look like a pipe dream.
The talismanic defender is edging closer to fitness, however, recently posting a video of himself running at the Reds’ Kirkby training complex.
And with Euro 2020 less than a month away, the Netherlands star still has time to get fit for his country this summer.
National team manager Frank de Boer recently insisted it will be down to Van Dijk if he wants to take part, as he hinted he plans on picking his star player if possible.
The idea would strike fear into anyone connected with Liverpool, who will just be desperate to get Van Dijk properly fit for the 2021/22 campaign.
But Dutch football expert Marcel van der Kraan insists that won’t be the national team’s concern, given the importance of their captain.
“It’s a very serious thing, the Dutch can’t really do without Van Dijk,” he told Paul Hawksbee and Max Rushden on talkSPORT.
“They need him, he’s been the steel and the backbone of the team. He’s the man who runs the dressing room, everybody in the team likes him and looks up to him.
“Not only for football reasons, Frank de Boer wants him to be at the Euros. There could be a situation where he doesn’t start the tournament, we saw that before with Arjen Robben at the World Cup.
“With such a vital player like Van Dijk, De Boer’s idea is that if there’s one chance to take him, they will do it. They’ve slowly been putting the pressure on, maybe not Virgil, but his club.
“At the end of the day, it is the decision of Van Dijk. I spoke to Virgil a while ago and he said that, too. He needs to feel right about his knee.
“He feels like he’s coming to a stage where he may have to take a decision against the wishes of the club, but he won’t do anything silly.”