‘Better than him’ - Rafael Van der Vaart once compared Liverpool signing to £88m Real Madrid superstar

Liverpool are close to agreeing a move for Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch and a former Premier League star had previously compared to him Jude Bellingham.

Gravenberch, 21, has struggled for game time across the last year in Germany after making the move from his boyhood club Ajax.

He started just three games in the Bundesliga last season and his development has no doubt taken a hit as he was previously on the Golden Boy final list in 2022.

Now, Liverpool are close to agreeing a deal for the midfielder, with The Athletic reporting that he is in the city to complete a medical after a fixed fee of £34.2m (€40m) was agreed.

In the past, there have been comparisons to Jude Bellingham for Gravenberch, as a young, tall and technically strong midfielder who clearly shares similar attributes.

Former Tottenham and Real Madrid midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart went onto claim that his fellow countryman was indeed better than Bellingham, who signed for the Spanish giants in a £88m deal this summer.

"What I think is the big difference (between the two players); Bellingham is a step lower at a club and always plays," Former Spurs forward Rafael Van Der Vaart said in his chat with Ziggo Sport.

“I think Gravenberch is better than Jude Bellingham, in every way. Especially physically.

The Reds had initially wanted to sign Bellingham at the start of the summer, but lost out to Real Madrid over that deal and once they complete this deal, they will have spent over £150m on midfielders during this window.

Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have all been recruited to replace the outgoings of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain this summer.