Netherlands coach Xavi Hernandez has requested a second conversation with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk about his international future.
Journalist Valentijn Driesen reports on the De Telegraaf podcast ‘Kick-Off – via Voetbalzone – that the Netherlands boss wants a conversation with the Liverpool defender.
Netherlands uncertainty
The website explains that there is currently growing uncertainty about Virgil van Dijk’s future with the Netherlands national team.
Xavi has, reportedly, already picked a preliminary squad for the next international break. However, that list is no longer made public as it once was. So, there is no indication if Van Dijk has been included at this point.
The final squad will be announced on Friday September 18th. Xavi will then hold a press conference the following day.
Van Dijk recently confirmed to the English media that he was due to have a conversation with Xavi about his future.
“I feel that I can still be valuable and important to the team,” he said.
“If we see eye to eye on that, we have two good years ahead of us leading up to Euro 2028. And if not, then we’ll see.”
Meeting at Liverpool
Driessen now believes that meeting will happen within the next weeks. And, if the Liverpool star decides to step down then that will come before the squad announcement.
“That has to happen within a week anyway, because the squad is being announced next week,” he said.
“I think if he decides to step down, we’ll hear about it sooner – that it will be communicated one way or another.”
He then reports that Van Dijk and Xavi already met on Wednesday, when Liverpool took on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
“I find it quite remarkable that he is taking on the challenge at Liverpool again,” he added.
“But I really wonder if it’s going to be such a big success with the Dutch national team. The fact that Xavi wanted a follow-up conversation with him speaks volumes. I don’t know if they reached an agreement, but they undoubtedly met on Wednesday.”
