Ryan gravenberch is the only player in the liverpool squad that embodies the importance of patience. Since his impressive breakthrough at ajax, where he appeared twice against liverpool in the champions league in 2020/21, jurgen klopp had long considered him a potential reds prospect. Gravenberch’s attempts to sign were foiled in the summer of 2022, with the dutchman opting to join bayern munich, where he spent a frustrating campaign in which he made just six starts before being lured to anfield by liverpool in a £35 million deal with the promise of a fresh start. And that transfer took a long time. Liverpool met with gravenberch’s representatives in march, before talks with his father the following month indicated that the player would be open to a move. However, since bayern has yet to decide on their own midfield options for the forthcoming season, it wasn’t until september that the deal was finally concluded. Gravenberch immediately ingratiated himself with liverpool’s support by choosing to stay at the axa training center to work with his new club rather than join the holland under-21 team. The dutch followed him cold-shouldered, though relations have since thawed.
And the player has certainly been making up for lost time on the field. Gravenberch has appeared in all three games since making his liverpool debut in september with a late comeback against wolves, including only the europa league loss at toulouse, the premier league victory at home against brentford, and the league cup quarter-final victory over west ham united at anfield. His 12 starts total is now double what he had at bayern, and he has already played more minutes for liverpool than in germany. Luis diaz made his mark in the europa league victory over lask linz, scoring in the home victories over union saint-gilloise and toulouse in no time. In the league cup victory over leicester city, there was also an assist. But the reality began to dawn after reveling in being freed from the chains. Gravenberch has adapted to life in bayern as a minuscule bit-part player, with his life becoming more difficult than wataru endo. His performances have been uneven at best, though his impact from the bench has been marginal. This shouldn’t come as a surprise.
For any player who was kicking his heels for much of the previous season, it is impossible to make the switch to the hectic premier league. And, at just 21 years old, gravenberch is still learning and maturing. For a much more experienced operator, adjusting to a klopp midfield can be difficult. Curtis jones has been a beneficiary of gravenberch’s arrival. Jones has been elevated to new heights in the midfield with the dutchman as a direct competitor on the left of the midfield triumvirate, having been revitalized since the change of tactical strategy back in april and was the game’s best performer in monday’s 4-2 victory over newcastle united. What does gravenberch’s liverpool career so far look like? “my premier league debut is going well,” he says. “it’s gone with a little bit of its ups and downs.” I think the start for me was a good one, but i still have to work on it and i know that i can do better at times, so that’s what i’m hoping to accomplish in the coming weeks and months.
