The slump in fortunes of the Netherlands on the international stage is not reflected inside the cosmopolitan Albion dressing room.

Of all the numerous foreign nations represented in the Premier League squad assembled by Chris Hughton, Dutchmen top the non-English contingent.

When Renato Neto, Gent's Brazilian midfielder, failed a medical last summer due to a knee problem, the Seagulls switched attention to Davy Propper.

When Hughton wanted more competition for new No.1 Mathew Ryan, he turned back to his old club Newcastle and Tim Krul.

And when Albion finally landed in January the extra firepower they had been seeking since the start of the season, it was Propper's former PSV Eindhoven colleague Jurgen Locadia (below) who attracted a club record £14 million fee.

The Argus: Propper has been outstanding alongside Dale Stephens in the centre of the park.

Krul's presence has kept Ryan on his toes and Locadia has demonstrated early promise of adding pace and goals to Hughton's attacking options after recovering from hamstring trouble.

The versatile Propper is likely to emerge as a key figure in Ronald Koeman's rebuilding plans for the Netherlands.

The 26-year-old is part of an essentially youthful squad selected by Koeman for his first match in charge, tonight's friendly against England in Amsterdam (7.45).

Seven newcomers featured in Koeman's provisional squad, including Patrick Kluivert's teenage son Justin, an exciting winger with Ajax.

The long-term task for Propper, Kluivert Jr and the rest is to restore their country to former glories.

Koeman was part of the team with Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten that triumphed in the European Championships in 1988.

Johan Cruyff's class of 1974 were World Cup runners-up to West Germany. Ruud Krol, Johnny Rep and company suffered the same fate against Argentina four years later.

They were second-best again in 2010, to Spain, with the likes of Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie.

The Dutch are now a pale imitation of their forefathers. They failed to qualify for both the last Euro finals and this summer's World Cup finals in Russia, despite the best efforts of Propper.

He scored twice in a 3-1 win against Bulgaria in September and was on target again the following month in a victory by the same score in Belarus.

The Argus: Now that Wesley Sneijder has retired, Koeman has to decide where to play Propper (above left), deep as he does for Albion or in the more advanced position he has occupied for his country.

"In the last three games I was more like a number ten, close to the striker," Propper told The Argus. "That is also a role I can play. It's a new coach, so we will see.

"It was because of the structure we play in the national team. We really need a number ten who is close to the striker.

"It worked well. In my former teams we played most of the time with the one holding midfielder and two attacking midfielders."

Having experienced the Premier League for the past seven months, Propper is relishing the challenge against Gareth Southgate's England.

He said: "Outside of the top six everyone is so well matched that every match is one of life and death. Every game is very important, at a killer pace and at a high level.

"That's why I think it's great that we start the new cycle with the Dutch team against England, the country where I play."

Locadia's hamstring injury, sustained with PSV in December, wrecked his chances of being selected by Koeman.

He has played for his country at every age group from under-17s to under-21s and, wearing orange boots, showed in his first full 90 minutes for Albion in the FA Cup exit at Manchester United that he could have a bigger part to play during the run-in.

The Argus: Krul (above) said: "He looked lively. If he had nicked a goal it would have been a perfect night for him. It was just that final bit.

"We've got a great squad now. He's ready. I think there are a few others if called upon we're ready.

"Jurgen's ready, but Glenn's (Murray) obviously playing really well and the boys around him, so there's a lot of competition. That will push us over the line for the next six massive weeks."

Krul, who played in the last World Cup for Holland, will be an interested spectator this evening.

"Of course," he said. "My wife is English, so it's going to be a funny one. We'll definitely be watching. Ronald Koeman is a really good manager, a lot of experience.

"He gives a lot of young players a chance as well, so he's revamping the whole squad. We have to look ahead.

"After a few really big tournaments in the World Cup it's a shame we didn't qualify for this one."