Liverpool made a move for Gravenberch after scouts spotted his similarities to the former Reds star hi
Liverpool signed Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich on deadline day, making the 21-year-old their fourth summer signing after Alexis MacAllister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo.
Ryan Gravenberch moved from Bayern Munich to Liverpool
Ryan Gravenberch has moved to Liverpool from Bayern Munich
Liverpool chiefs believe new signing Ryan Gravenberch can play a similar role to compatriot Georginio Wijnaldum.
Gravenberch completed a deadline day move from Bayern Munich to Liverpool for £34.2m as he struggled for regular game time at the Allianz Arena. However, this is a player who has been on Liverpool’s radar for some time and became a target in 2021 when Wijnaldum left the club on a free transfer to join Paris Saint-Germain.
Wijnaldum enjoyed a highly successful five-year spell at Anfield, becoming a key member of Jurgen Klopp’s plans and barely missing a game. He helped the Reds win the Premier League and the Champions League and was never properly replaced when he left. However, Liverpool may finally have found their successor after Athletic revealed that club bosses noticed “similarities” between Gravenberch and Wijnaldum when planning the switch.
The report adds that Liverpool have “extensively scouted Gravenberch since his days in the Ajax youth ranks” and the Dutchman broke Clarence Seedorf’s record when manager Erik ten Hag handed him his debut against PSV aged 16 years and 130 days. Eindhoven.
However, when it was time for Gravenberch to leave Ajax, he moved to Bayern last summer hoping to take his career to the next level. But things didn’t work out for him in Germany, with Gravenberch’s lack of minutes under both Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel prompting him to share his frustrations publicly.
– I expected to play more minutes than I did. I thought I would get more opportunities,” Gravenberch told ESPN in June. “It’s just wanting to play, that’s the most important thing at my age.”
Liverpool chiefs believe there are similarities between Gravenberch and former Red star Georginio Wijnaldum.
Liverpool home shirt 2023/2024
Given the player’s frustration at Bayern, Liverpool pounced when scout Barry Hunter flew to Holland to meet Gravenberch’s father in April, setting the wheels in motion for the 21-year-old’s move to Anfield. “His biggest problem is that we don’t really play with eight in our 4-2-3-1 system,” said Tuchel when asked why Gravenberch’s time at Bayern has not been successful.
“He’s a box-to-box midfielder, an attacking player. Ryan is a very nice, hard-working and dedicated player. He was not satisfied with his situation. He sees Liverpool as an opportunity to fight for the 8th position in 4-3-3. He wanted to go for a while.”
And Klopp agrees with Tuchel’s decision, insisting that Gravenberch is the perfect fit for Liverpool. “What Thomas Tuchel said, the position where he is the best, it doesn’t really exist in their system,” Klopp said. We have it – it’s good. He is super talented. A good eye for a passport. He can be a real threat from box to box. It suits us.”