Liverpool signing could be Jurgen Klopp’s secret weapon as Bayern Munich make £34m mistake

Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch is fast becoming Jurgen Klopp’s secret weapon after his starring performances in the EFL Cup and Europa League.

Signed from Bayern Munich in the summer for a respectable fee of £34m, it’s starting to look like the German giants may have made a mistake in letting him go.

He has had to bide his time so far, as the Liverpool midfield has been made up of Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister - both of whom arrived before the start of the pre-season in late-June - and the already established Harvey Elliot and Curtis Jones, as well as fellow summer signing Wataru Endo.

Therefore, his chances have come in cup competitions such as the EFL Cup and Europa League and he’s certainly started to prove his point to Jurgen Klopp after three goal contributions in three games.

“I think it’s the minutes” - is what Gravenberch claimed to be the biggest difference between Bayern and Liverpool so far and he’s certainly not wrong. He was underused at the German club, playing less than 1,000 minutes across the whole season and he’s already played 27% of those minutes so far in Red.

That was the most probable reason for his departure and while Liverpool have a stacked midfield, he will still earn plenty of minutes based off his showings so far. The cup games have been a perfect environment for him to settle into matches and into his new side, especially as the strength of the opponents have allowed him less pressure than he would have experienced in an average Premier League encounter.

He looks totally transformed in just a few short months on Merseyside, playing with a smile and with the confidence that saw him become one of the most sought-after youngsters in European football a few seasons ago.

Another strong performance last night saw him record three shots on target (100%) 100% long ball accuracy, three successful dribbles, seven ground duels won and four recoveries - and he certainly was one of the side’s best performers.

For Klopp, he will be debating whether to bring him into start in the league. However, for now, he will remain a key starter in cup games and given the line-ups we have seen in the cup competitions so far, Liverpool stand a good chance of going far. But Gravenberch is certainly staking a claim to start in the league soon.

Brighton away may be too soon for him, but after the international break there’s Everton, Toulouse and then Nottingham Forest at home and it’s likely we will see him start in at least two of those three games.