Liverpool cheated on Bayern Munich on a last minute signing of  -Ryan Gravenberch Klopp 

1. Liverpool cheated on Bayern Munich on a last minute signing of  -Ryan Gravenberch Klopp

I

Ryan Gravenberch is playing with a smile on his face and that may last for a long time as part of Jurgen Klopp’s new generation.

Not even Jurgen Klopp would paint himself as the patron saint of salvaging careers. But there’s little doubt the Liverpool manager possesses a happy knack of improving many of the players who come under his purview.

 

From Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane through to Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and Andy Robertson, Klopp has taken good footballers and transformed them into key components of a world-class team – and, in some cases, helped them develop into world-class talents on their own individual merits.

 

And the early signs are the Reds boss is already having a positive impact on Ryan Gravenberch.

His start against Toulouse was a fifth since arriving from Bayern Munich on deadline day in August – only one fewer than he managed in the entirety of his sole season at the Bundesliga champions. In terms of minutes, he has accrued 417 so far for the Reds, already approaching half the 937 he was afforded at Bayern.

 

 

While Gravenberch had long been on the radar of Liverpool – he was among their list of targets before moving to Bayern from Ajax in the summer of 2022 – his eventual arrival was regarded as somewhat underwhelming from a fanbase who had been anticipating a defensive midfield signing. Gravenberch was recognised as a good young player, yes, but didn’t the Reds already have enough engine room options in his position?

 

The subsequent evidence suggests they cannot have enough such alternatives, not least given the midfield travails that dogged Liverpool last season and ultimately contributed to them missing out on Champions League qualification. And Gravenberch has been one of several players to grasp the Europa League as an opportunity, laying on a fine assist for Luis Diaz on his first Liverpool start at LASK and scoring his first goal against Union Saint-Gilloise in the next group.