Gullit Demands Van Dijk Improvement

By Joshua Walters

Former Chelsea player Ruud Gullit has urged Virgil van Dijk to improve on his qualities.

According to Gullit, the Dutch defender 'must be better' to win the Ballon d'Or accolade.

With the Dutch national team enduring a lot of mistakes from the defensive area, Gullit insists Van Dijk should deal with such minor errors.

The former Celtic defender had an impressive season having helped Liverpool win the Champions League title and also guiding the Netherlands to the UEFA Nations League final as they were defeated by Portugal.

The fine form of the defender has made him a favourite for the Ballon d'Or award and Gullit believes his fellow countryman could only emerge as the winner if he improves on last season's performance.

“I think he did really, really well, especially with Liverpool. I think that he was the missing link for them,” Gullit said.

"For the national team I still think he needs to be better than that.

"Not him only, but also [Matthijs] De Ligt because out of the last 14 games, 10 games we've been 1-0 down. If you have such a good defence you don't need to concede these goals all the time."

Aside calling for an improvement from Van Dijk, Gullit also insists his national team teammates also have a role to play to aid their compatriot win the honour.

"It has to do with the whole team of course," said Gullit. "It is something that he has to fix. Not he himself but the whole defence, with the whole team, in order to be that player.

"Of course, defenders have not been picked a lot. Baresi should have been picked but never was. So therefore it would be a huge boost for him if he gets picked."