Ronald Koeman admits Matthijs de Ligt could lose his Netherlands place | OneFootball

Netherlands international boss Ronald Koeman has revealed that Matthijs de Ligt could be dropped from the squad should he continue with his place on the Juventus bench.

De Ligt was an unused substitute as Juve beat Parma in their opening game of the Serie A season last Saturday.

The former Ajax captain admitted after the match that he was surprised not to get the nod after impressing in pre-season.

Maurizio Sarri though, opted for the tried and tested combination of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

And Koeman has conceded that the youngster will have to have game time should he want to keep his international place.

“On the one hand, you assume that he is going to play because he makes a transfer for a lot of money,” Koeman told Studio Voetbal.

“But if a club has Chiellini and Bonucci, it may be that the coach makes a different choice.

“The moment he chooses Juventus, he goes to another country and he has to learn a new language. That takes time, but of course, that should not take too long.

“I am not worried yet, but if this is still the case in October, then you will start thinking about the fact that he has no rhythm.”