Liverpool have enjoyed a solid start to the 2024/25 season, with Ryan Gravenberch leading the charge. The Reds have won nine of their opening ten games in all competitions and are challengers for at least one piece of silverware by the end of the campaign.
Not only is the attack flourishing, but Liverpool has only conceded three goals thus far, demonstrating how well the back four has played and how well that backline has been protected. The person responsible for that protection? Ryan Gravenberch.
Ryan Gravenberch has demonstrated a remarkable rise to form under Arne Slot. Call it a Dutch Revolution. After revitalising so many players during his tenure, Jurgen Klopp appeared unable to unlock Gravenberch’s artistry, but Slot has very much found the keys to his magic.
He has arguably been the best defensive midfielder on the planet in the most brutal league in the world this season. When comparing his price tag to that of Declan Rice’s and Rodri’s of Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively, £34.3m suddenly seems like an outrageous bargain to acquire the services of a player with this much quality.
For some context, Gravenberch’s road has not been an easy one. The young midfielder was part of the continuous conveyor belt of talent who graduated from Ajax’s academy. After continuing to impress, Ryan earned a move to Bayern Munich, where he looked to take his career to the next level at a European giant. Still, his fairytale began to be unwritten as he struggled in Germany. Limited to a handful of substitute appearances and a couple of starts, Liverpool jumped at the opportunity to give the Dutchman a way out.
Gravenberch is now thriving under his fellow countryman after a similarly frustrating first season in England to the one spent in Germany. In the 2023/24 season, although his talent and power were evident, he was on the periphery of Liverpool’s first team, starting to show real promise towards the end of the season, and he hasn’t looked back since.
Slot’s first action upon arriving on Merseyside was to move Gravenberch into the No.6 role, tasking him with essentially guarding Liverpool’s defence. His primary focus has been driving the team forward with Szoboszlai and Mac Allister whenever he’s had to. Effortlessly connecting defence to attack, he has been highly effective in attacking and defensive positions, resulting in a handful of man-of-the-match awards already.
Whilst Gravenberch was deployed sporadically in the deep-lying midfield position for Ajax, 0% of his playing time at Bayern Munich and Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp was spent in that position, so he has had to relearn it, but he has done so quickly.
Looking back, it is fair to say that Bayern failed to grasp the dazzling potential of this young man because his star is now becoming ever so bright. After unlocking his potential, who knows how high the ceiling is? There is no reason why he can’t go on to fulfil that potential and develop into one of the Premier League’s most accomplished holding midfielders with a running ability that will take him above all of them.