Imposing Wolfsburg centre-forward Bas Dost is firing on all cylinders in the Bundesliga and appears ready to finally make his full international debut for Netherlands.
- By David Lee Wheatley
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Dost struggled to force his way into the thoughts of club coach Dieter Hecking prior to December, making just two substitute appearances by that stage.
It all changed for the former Heerenveen star when he stepped off the bench to score his side’s second goal in a 3-1 away win over arch-rivals Hannover 96 on December 6, which prompted a run of six starts on the trot thereafter.
His goalscoring exploits have reached a whole new level with four strikes in his last four outings, including the notable achievement of becoming the first man to notch a brace against league leaders Bayern Munich within the Bavarians’ last 102 Bundesliga fixtures.
Now standing on a five-strike record from just nine league appearances this term, is it time for the 25-year-old to be handed an opportunity to shine for the senior national team?
The Netherlands meet Turkey at home in a crucial European Championship tie on March 28, while also facing Spain in a friendly match three days later.
With the form of several forward players – including Robin van Persie – intermittent at best, the 6ft 5in target-man may well be awarded a first cap in one of the two upcoming fixtures.
Should the main bright spark of the Dutch attack Klaas-Jan Huntelaar encounter any injury or disciplinary problems, then Oranje head coach Guus Hiddink runs the very real risk of allowing goals to all-but dry up without handily positioning an alternative option at his disposal.
Louis van Gaal previously called up Dost for duty against Belgium in August 2012, but unfortunately he didn’t appear during that contest.
Since then, he rather disappointingly hit single figures during each of his two full seasons at Wolfsburg before falling completely out of favour at the Volkswagen Arena until just a couple of months ago.
Now performing admirably when assisting the Wolves to second spot in the Bundesliga, Dost is undoubtedly enjoying his best spell since leaving the Eredivisie in 2012 and could yet provide a boost to a squad desperately seeking much-needed consistency in their attempts to make it to France 2016.
regardless of his form, i have a feeling RVP will be being called up unless retired!