Jurgen Klopp detailed his new signing Ryan Gravenberch’s potential to slot into the No.6 role for Liverpool and become the long-term successor to Fabinho.
Gravenberch made the move to Merseyside this summer from Bayern Munich, where the Holland international midfielder endured a frustrating debut campaign after leaving boyhood club Ajax last year.
When quizzed upon Gravenberch’s ability ( as quoted by The Echo), the Reds manager Klopp admitted that the Dutchman could prove to be the ultimate replacement for Fabinho who left Liverpool in the summer to sign for Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.
“I didn’t mention [the position], [Bayern Munich boss] Thomas Tuchel said that!
“I think definitely in the future he has the potential to play as a No.6. The only thing about Alexis Mac Allister – he can play the position – is, is he a classical 6 how you would draw it? Probably not. But the position in football has changed over the years.
“He’s so skilled, I don’t like to talk about the things he is not good at yet. They all have skills and yes they have to improve and he knows that, and he tries but the natural stuff is there and all the other stuff takes time and that is how it is. He is an 8, he can play as a 10, definitely and yes, in time, he can play as a 6. Like Curtis [Jones] could play as a 6, they just have to get used to the different spaces and responsibilities.
“That’s not the most difficult position in the world, it’s just one where from time to time you have to hold yourself back a little bit. Hendo struggled with that until the end and played some sensational games on the 6. [He would say] ‘But I cannot be involved in this or that going forward?’ That was the situation.
“But besides that [Gravenberch] is a real talent. So now we have to see. We obviously have good players and we don’t need to push him in because he is new, it’s a mid and long-term project and he will be with us definitely and will have enough opportunities to play.”
Fabinho’s departure from the Liverpool roster, which came in the aftermath of the skipper Jordan Henderson also leaving Anfield for the cash-rich Saudi Pro League, left Klopp with the onus of rebuilding his engine room in time for the new season’s start.
Alongside the 20-year-old Gravenberch, the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai arrived at Anfield, providing Klopp with much needed fresh blood in the centre of the park.
