Ryan Gravenberch has been Liverpool’s revelation of the season as the Dutchman surprised Europe with consistently world class displays in the No.6 position.
When Liverpool signed Gravenberch from Bayern Munich, supporters had mixed feelings as Moises Caicedo had just rejected a £111million move to Anfield to join Chelsea.
The Reds have had the last laugh, however, winning the league and saving nearly £80m by signing the Gravenberch for just £34.3m on transfer Deadline Day in 2023.
Arne Slot shares how Gravenberch became Liverpool’s star No.6
“I asked Ryan if he could come back a bit earlier than he actually did, because we had a few games in America to play and I was really curious how he would do in that position,” said Slot.
“When we came back from America there was only two games left on the same day so there wasn’t a lot of time for me to try something out.”
“I spoke to most of the players in their summer break and one of the things Alexis said to me – and I also felt the same – was that he has no problem playing as a six, but he prefers to play with a six behind him,” added the Liverpool boss.
“I think that gets the best out of him, that’s also why we were interested in signing a number six. But Ryan did come back one or two days earlier and that way he could play the Manchester United game in that position and I immediately liked it because he was so comfortable on the ball.”
Sky’s the limit for Ryan Gravenberch, says Slot
Not only is Slot over the moon that he was able to coach Gravenberch into being the solution Liverpool needed in defensive midfield, he believes there is little holding the 22-year-old back from becoming a world beater.
“He has all the ingredients to play really well in that position,” Slot says. “Perhaps what he could add to his game is maybe one or two touch play and find even more players in between the lines.
“He can take Virgil [van Dijk] as an example because for me he is our best player in that part, finding players in between the lines. But he’s done great, Ryan, that’s for sure.”
Liverpool are so lucky to have Gravenberch
While many Liverpool supporters thought the no.38 would be an explosive box to box midfielder by now, he has been absolutely liquid in the No.6 role and has potentially saved Slot from needing to spend tens of millions of pounds this summer on a new holding midfielder.
