Van Dijk was born in Breda to a Dutch father and Surinamese mother.[8] During his teenage years, he combined his time playing at the Willem II academy with a part-time job as a dishwasher.[9][10] Having previously and unsuccessfully featured as a right-back, van Dijk was shifted into a central defensive position in 2008, aged 17, after he grew in height by around 18 centimetres.[9][10] Despite the positional shift and van Dijk's physical growth, Willem II's reserve manager at the time Edwin Hermans believed he had "too many limitations" which prevented him from breaking into the first team.[10]In 2010, he was scouted by former Dutch international Martin Koeman, who was working for FC Groningen at the time, and he ended up completing a free transfer to the club in the same year.[9][10]