Gravenberch - A Wijnaldum replacement?(2023)
Liverpool completed the deadline day signing of Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich - giving manager Jurgen Klopp one of the youngest midfields in the Premier League
Twelve Dutch players have now represented Liverpool’s first team, with Gravenberch joining compatriots Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo in the current squad.
Add to that trio another three midfielders in Curtis Jones, 22, Harvey Elliott, 20, and the precocious 18-year-old talent of Stefan Bajcetic, and Jurgen Klopp boasts a frighteningly young group in an area of the pitch where experience is usually deemed as vital.
Only Thiago at 32 and another new signing, the 30-year-old Wataru Endo, provide the experience which Klopp based his entire Anfield success on, in the shape of a wily midfield quartet of James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Gini Wijnaldum
He has been on Liverpool's radar since they lost van dijk and his time at bayern and Ajax suggest that he still has to keep improving, it is likely he will become a top player in the coming years. His defensive game might need improvement, but he has all the physical qualities, as well as the awareness, to build on this area of his game. Meanwhile, he has a wide range of progressive and creative assets in his arsenal. We lost wijnaldums ability to act as an engine after he left and hopefully Ryan can fill that gap with Endo as the rest of the midfield are more towards the creative side
Comments