Liverpool looks set to conclude a deal for Ryan Gravenberch during the final hours of the transfer window to complete the club’s business in what has been a busy summer. The Dutch international will be the final piece of a midfield rebuild which was very much a necessity at Anfield over the last few years.
But while Gravenberch comes with a lot of proven pedigree at 21 years old, it is the transfer that has probably elicited the least excitement out of all the other arrivals to have joined the club this summer.
On the one hand, based on his perceived ‘failure’ at Bayern Munich, it makes sense why fans would be reticent to get too excited. On the other, this is a young player who has played for some huge European clubs already and has the potential to be a world-class midfielder if he can get his career back on track.
It’s also important to note that while Gravenberch didn’t make a mark at Bayern Munich, that was largely down to not receiving a lot of opportunities to catch the eye. Liverpool also took a look at him before that while he was excelling at Ajax.
Thrust into a new team with elite midfielders, the coach who signed Gravenberch for Bayern, Julian Nagelsmann was dismissed midway through the season. In his place arrived Thomas Tuchel, who just couldn’t fit him into the club’s system.
It wasn’t down to bad performances on the pitch. If anything, when Gravenberch did play, he was his usual self.
Looking at some per 90 metrics in the Bundesliga (as per FBref), Gravenberch ranked among the top five midfielders for progressive passes (6.88), the top 10 for shot-creating actions (3.91) and the top 15 midfielders for tackles and interceptions (4.06).
For a midfielder in his first season in the Bundesliga, those are not bad numbers. One could only imagine what those numbers could have been if Gravenberch had been given proper chances to showcase his ability.
But Liverpool fans can be encouraged that even when it was coming on in games late on, Gravenberch still managed to put himself about and make a mark while at Bayern Munich.
If he can replicate similar numbers at Liverpool, then there is no denying the club could have just landed him for an absolute bargain price at $45m (£35m/€41m).
That is because Gravenberch’s sample size was bigger in the Bundesliga and he still put in the same per 90 numbers than he would have been up there with the likes of Jude Bellingham, who went for almost triple that amount of money this summer to Real Madrid.
Sure, there is an element of gambling with Gravenberch because he didn’t get the minutes he would have wanted. But then again that happens. Mohamed Salah barely got a look in at Chelsea. Philippe Coutinho couldn’t get minutes at Inter Milan. Yet they turned out alright in a Liverpool shirt.
Gravenberch has the potential to be a similar sort of signing, and his stats in the Bundesliga should highlight that reality very clearly for Liverpool supporters who are perhaps a bit skeptical about his arrival.
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