SCOTTISH observers witness Virgil van Dijk's swift assimilation to life at Celtic and venture the opinion that the defender looks a real prospect.

Dutch observers, once they have overcome their natural shyness, note their countryman's composure with the ball at his feet and reckon he isn't anything special. Mark Wotte, the Dutchman responsible for bringing through the next generation of Scottish players in his role as the Scottish Football Association's performance director, has taken a close interest in van Dijk's development since the former Groningen player joined him in Glasgow in the summer.

He has been impressed with the 22-year-old's form and believes a full call-up to the Dutch national side may not be too far away but, in typically candid form, felt that the player was "not exceptional" in a country where defenders comfortable with the ball at their feet are commonplace.

"In Holland, central defenders are judged in another way," he said. "It's not only clearing the ball and winning headers. For Celtic, van Dijk is a good passing player but in Holland he's not exceptional with his passing ability. I know big clubs have watched van Dijk, but they have their own players who they have developed through the youth system and did not want to pay the money.

"I think van Dijk is confident and strong and he can improve in little defensive things. You could see the goal [conceded] against Dundee United when he stepped up instead of stepping backwards. He's just a rough diamond and still a young boy.

"He came from RKC Waalwijk to Groningen and didn't have any international experience. He played one or two games for the under-21s but is a great signing for Celtic and is doing very well now. I know that Louis Van Gaal [head coach of the Dutch national team] is watching him and he sent an assistant coach to watch the Celtic versus Ajax game and I'm pretty sure he made a report on van Dijk as well. It's a great move to go from Groningen to Celtic and play in the Champions League. He will develop."

Van Gaal will get a close-up view of van Dijk in Amsterdam this evening when Ajax host Celtic in matchday four of the Champions League group phase. Gordon Strachan, the former Celtic manager and now a colleague of Wotte's at the SFA, has said that his former club will win in the Amsterdam ArenA to improve their chances of reaching the last 16 of the competition. Wotte surveys an Ajax squad in transition and finds it hard to argue with the Scotland manager's viewpoint.

"Celtic have a lot of qualities which are difficult for Ajax to deal with," said Wotte. "They are physical, they are brave and they are on a better run than Ajax. I think the momentum is an advantage for Celtic. But I saw the game at Parkhead and Ajax created three or four big chances to equalise or score and they didn't take these chances. That was the big difference between the teams on this night.

"I admired the tactics of Neil Lennon putting pressure on the Ajax build-up. They had problems getting from the defensive third to the middle third to the final third. But when they did reach the middle third they were a threat sometimes.

"Ajax is not in good form and lost against Vitesse at home. There is an uproar already back home. Johan Cruyff has come out and said they always make the same mistakes. But it's such a young team. Only Christian Poulsen has experience. Even Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen who were sold in the summer were only 22 and 20 - they didn't lose a lot of experience although they had played games for their age. I was talking to Edwin van der Sar and Marc Overmars before the game and they admitted they were still a young team. They say 'this is what we are - we develop players, we sell them and then we develop new players'.

"This game can go both ways - if Celtic has another strong team performance with pressure on the ball then they can beat Ajax. If Ajax gets a little more space on the ball then they can hurt any team. They have young, talented players and they will be desperate to win this as they lost the last home game against Vitesse."

Cruyff may be an untouchable icon around the world but Wotte revealed his influence is waning back home. "The boys who play don't know Cruyff well. For them it's just a name. When Martin Jol was the [Ajax] manager, Cruyff criticised him in newspaper columns and everyone copied the story and suddenly there was a boss under pressure. The boys won't even read Cruyff's comments. They are not like our generation who read everything and who take everything into consideration."

Ajax made an impact on the Champions League last season when they defeated Manchester City but the loss of Eriksen and Alderweireld in the summer has weakened de Boer's hand. "He lost two key players and he's back at the development stage again," said Wotte. "It must be hard for him to build a club then sell gems and they didn't have time to buy replacements.

"It's tough, but I don't think anyone will compare this Ajax side yet to the great ones of the past."