New Oranje boss Ronald Koeman named Van Dijk as his skipper on Thursday, with the centre-back set to fulfil the role for the first time in Friday’s friendly with England in Amsterdam.
Former Red Kuyt feels Van Dijk fully merits the armband and has backed his compatriot to provide the commanding and inspirational presence Koeman’s youthful squad requires.
“I think it’s a great achievement for him,” Kuyt, who won 104 caps for the Netherlands during his own distinguished playing career, told Liverpoolfc.com.
“Ronald Koeman took over the national team and last week in Holland they discussed a lot about who’s going to be the next captain and his name came up quite a few times.