Liverpool finally reaping rewards of £34m transfer battle with Man Utd as Slot issues 'outstanding' praise

Liverpool might have failed to land their number one transfer target in Martin Zubimendi during the summer but the emergence of Ryan Gravenberch in the number six role has allayed concerns about the strength of the Reds’ midfield.

The 22-year-old joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich on deadline day in the 2023 summer transfer window, after a deal worth up to £34m was agreed with the Bundesliga club. The Reds weren’t the only Premier League club interested as rivals Manchester United were also linked with the former Ajax man. He worked under current Red Devils coach Erik ten Hag in the Netherlands but opted to make the switch to Anfield despite reports that United showed a strong interest in the player just over 12 months ago. Other reports claimed United would offer strong competition to the Reds before Liverpool landed their man despite the Old Trafford club appearing to have the edge given Ten Hag’s relationship with the player.

Gravenberch was used as more of a squad player last season under Jurgen Klopp, with Wataru Endō spending large parts of the campaign in the number six role. However, new Reds boss Arne Slot has given Gravenberch the chance to prove himself in the holding midfield role and the Netherlands international has grasped it with both hands. He has been named Man of the Match in both of Liverpool’s Champions League games so far, a 3-1 victory at AC Milan and Wednesday’s 2-0 triumph over Bologna, while he also picked up the same accolade in last weekend’s 2-1 Premier League win over Wolves. Liverpool fans have also voted him as Player of the Match on two occasions this season.

Speaking of his form this campaign, Gravenberch said after Saturday’s battling win over Wolves: "This season I wanted to show myself again and I am really happy. He [Slot] put me in the starting 11 and that gave me a lot of confidence." On Wednesday night, Slot said of the midfielder: “He was outstanding again today, Ryan, with his dribbling ability and that was important against this team but if we only focus on the dribbles he had we forget maybe how important he is without the ball, where he does a lot of work and wins a lot of second balls as well.”

Former Liverpool striker Peter Crouch was pitchside on Wednesday as Slot’s side made it two wins from two Champions League games. He described Gravenberch as a revelation. Speaking on TNT Sports, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man said: "They tried Curtis Jones and Gravenberch was kind of untested in that number six role, but what a revelation he's been. He's been first class all season, he's made the shirt his own. What I like about him, we talk about breaking the lines all the time and most of the time you break the lines with a key pass, with a forward pass. He can do it like that but also by running he can beat two or three people in the midfield, he's attacking the defence through to the centre-half and that creates space for wide men like [Luis] Diaz and [Mohamed] Salah, for him to be able to slip in. Also a number six has to do the dirty work like that, get yourself in and make tackles."

Gravenberch’s performance against Wolves was almost a microcosm of his season so far. Opta highlighted how he became the first Premier League player for over 12 years to contest more than five duels in a match with 100 per cent success, make three tackles with 100 per cent success, and make 50 or more passes at 90 per cent or higher accuracy. He won eight duels total in that game. Despite concerns of the lack of activity in the transfer market over the summer, Liverpool have certainly found a solution to their defensive midfield concerns - now for all involved at Anfield, they will hope Gravenberch can stay fit and continue to exert his influence.