Jurgen Klopp has been critiqued for not unlocking the full potential of Ryan Gravenberch, who struggled in his debut season at Liverpool after a move from Bayern Munich.
Having only started 12 matches in the Premier League initially, he’s since become an indispensable part of the team under new manager Arne Slot, featuring in every minute of this term’s domestic and European matches. Former Liverpool player Jermaine Pennant shared his views with talkSPORT: “What I think he’s done amazingly well, that Klopp didn’t, is he’s now starting to get the best out of Luis Diaz. He’s now chipping in with goals galore.
“And the transformation of Gravenberch, putting him as the number six. Klopp missed a trick there because we was playing Endo, no disrespect to Endo, he was just a stop gap. He can’t do what Gravenberch does, on the turn and driving through that midfield.”
Gravenberch himself attributes his resurgence to the confidence instilled in him by Slot. He said: “The coach knows that I have a lot of football in me. He has a clear plan, with the build-up, with the pressing. It’s up to me to maintain that and be consistent. He gave me the chance from the start. I had to focus on a certain position, a bit more defensive.
“I do my thing and that works out well. That has to do with myself and with the coach. There was clarity from the start. We play as a team, and then the individual also looks better.”
Elsewhere, Slot has also compared his midfielder to Arsenal star Declan Rice. He is also thankful for Gravenberch’s transformation because it meant that Liverpool did not have to splash the cash in the transfer market. Slot said: “He is very comfortable with the ball, and I think that’s what everybody saw, but not every manager. So, it’s a bit of a choice.
“You can bring a No.6 in that’s only really good without the ball – hard tackles and sliding – which every fan loves, and a lot of pundits love as well. Or you look more at what can he bring for us if we have the ball, and I think he can help us a lot with the ball.
“And he has a good tackle, but he’s not a… Where would you compare him? He’s not an N’Golo Kante, he’s a Declan Rice, whatever you want to come up with. But he is a very good runner, so he has long legs, he can keep on running, closing down lines. Is that the way to say it?
“So, he is not the typical No.6 that is making sliding tackles of three or four or five meters, which a lot of fans also like to see. But if you play in a possession-based team, which he does, it’s a lot about keeping the ball, making the right decisions if you have the ball, and bringing the ball from the last line towards the forwards. It’s just a bit of how you look at a player.
“But in the end, he also surprised me, not how comfortable he is with the ball, but also how trustable he is without the ball. And I think that is something he picked up really fast, or which was maybe already inside of him, but people and me never saw before.”