Ryan Gravenberch’s arrival at Liverpool last year prompted Andrew Robertson to joke that the club have finally got a good Dutch player.
While Gravenberch joined the Reds without the pedigree of Netherlands colleagues Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo his revitalisation under compatriot Arne Slot shows he’s not just good, but great.
The midfielder was hailed as ‘one of the biggest talents in Europe’ by Bayern’s former sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic upon completing his £21million move from Ajax in 2022.
But having made just six starts for the Bavarians, Gravenberch sought pastures new and Liverpool swooped to land their long-term target.
Having kept tabs on him since he broke through the ranks at Ajax as a teenager, the Reds finally got their man on transfer deadline day 2023 for £34m.
There were signs of his undoubted talent during his debut campaign at Anfield including a standout showing in a 5-1 win over Toulouse.
Jurgen Klopp was clearly a fan, with one viral moment seeing the German give Gravenberch’s perfectly crafted goatee an affectionate rub.
However, struggles with form and fitness meant he made just 12 starts last season and remained a work in progress.
Gravenberch could have then found himself at a crossroads when Klopp departed Liverpool at the end of last season.
He failed to play a single minute at Euro 2024 despite the Netherlands reaching the semi-finals, but his inclusion at the tournament meant he arrived late for the Reds’ pre-season that had ushered in a new era under Slot.
The new Liverpool manager’s pursuit of a new holding midfielder was well documented this summer, with a failed attempt to prize Martin Zubimendi away from Real Sociedad.
After opting against chasing backup options, Slot found a solution in-house and Gravenberch, who was never fully established in one of Klopp’s two No.8 roles, is now the club’s first-choice No.6.
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Gravenberch has played every minute of Premier League football this season, having only managed 90 minutes once in the top-flight under Klopp.
His best performance to date came in a 3-0 win over Manchester United, ironically ramping up the pressure on his former mentor.
Erik ten Hag had six of his former Ajax stars across the two squads at Old Trafford on Sunday, five of them among the Red Devils’ ranks.
Andre Onana, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, and Lisandro Martínez all started, with Antony on the bench – but Gravenberch stood above his old teammates in a performance that ‘retired Casemiro’ according to talkSPORT’s Gabby Agbonlahor.
He is now living up to his tag as one of the most highly touted young players in the world – with Slot enjoying the fruit of Ten Hag’s labours.
Upon his Ajax emergence. Gravenberch drew comparisons with Frank Rijkaard for his mixture of physicality and technical quality.
Brain Tevreden, who left Ajax’s academy in 2016, handed him his debut for the club’s Under-15 side when he was only 12-years-old – with Gravenberch later breaking two of Clarence Seedorf‘s records as Ajax’s youngest player and goalscorer.
“Physically, I see Frank in him from back in the day because he’s tall and very strong,” Tevreden told Goal.
“But technically, I would say he’s a better version of [Paul] Pogba in his best days at Juventus, in terms of his technique and his presence on the pitch.
“He’s very dominant like Pogba was, and that’s what I see in Ryan.”
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The 6′ 3 powerhouse was a regular under Ten Hag at Ajax and was considered the best young midfielder of his age group.
Such was the hype around him he was crowned better than Jude Bellingham at everything by Rafael van der Vaart.
But while Bellingham cleverly rejected Man United’s offer to sign him in 2020 in favour of continuing his development at Borussia Dortmund, Gravenberch’s decision to join Bayern hampered his rise.
England star Bellingham is now one of the biggest stars in the world at Real Madrid, with his Dutch counterpart playing catch-up.
More performances like the one at Old Trafford will renew the comparisons between the two, even if Gravenberch isn’t quite ready to accept the adulation of this 2.0 version of himself.
Speaking to De Telegraaf, Liverpool’s No.38 said: “I think you’re exaggerating a bit, because I also had some bad moments. But in general, I can be satisfied with my game.”
On Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman’s accusation of his ‘laziness’, Gravenberch added: “It’s not nonsense; everyone has their own opinion. People say about me that I’m a bit nonchalant.
“That’s just in me. Now I have that nonchalance too, but people don’t really talk about it, because things are going well at Liverpool.”
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As a youngster, Gravenberch was once stripped as captain of his Ajax youth side because he struggled with the responsibility.
“If I have to think about ten things at once, it goes wrong,” he admitted to Ajax Life. “I consciously choose to stay calm, I like a relaxed atmosphere around me.
“As a football player that can sometimes break me down, I realise that. Sometimes I need to wake up, I need a kick in the a**. That is still a clear point for improvement in my game.”
He is now flourishing with the responsibility put on him by a different Dutch coach in Slot, who revealed what surprised him the most about working with Gravenberch.
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Slot said: “His quality on the ball could be my first answer but I think coming from the Netherlands we all know how good he is with the ball.
“He can be a really important player for our build-up game, but what impressed me most when I started working with him [was] how much he can run and then still how good he is when he arrives in the duel.”
It seemed like all Gravenberch needed to revitalise a career that promised so much was a little rub of the green…
Or perhaps that should be red!
