What Ryan Gravenberch can bring to the Liverpool midfield
FootballTransfers turn their focus to a talented midfielder who has made a Premier League switch on deadline day...
Born in Amsterdam, Ryan Gravenberch came through the famed youth academy of his hometown club AFC Ajax. As a technically and physically gifted player, he had found the perfect environment to develop.
The Dutch giants are known for accelerating the first team pathway of their promising young players.
At just 16, Gravenberch’s progression saw him become the youngest ever Ajax player to play in the Eredivisie, breaking a record set by Clarence Seedorf.
Over the next three seasons, Gravenberch established himself as one of the most exciting midfield talents in Europe, making over 100 appearances, winning three league titles, and winning his first senior cap for the Netherlands.
It was a matter of when, not if he will move to a top club. In the end, Bayern Munich beat off plenty of competition to sign the Dutchman in the summer of 2022.
Despite putting up some decent numbers, Gravenberch was unable to displace Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich and spent much of the campaign on the bench.
The arrival of Konrad Laimer makes the competition for places even tougher, and he now finds himself on the move to the Premier League.
Ryan Gravenberch Transfer Value - how much is he worth?
According to the Expected Transfer Value (xTV) model, Gravenberch is currently valued at €49.2 million.
His value skyrocketed after becoming a key player for Ajax and winning his first cap for the Oranje while still a teenager, but has declined due to his recent struggles at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern would still be looking to make a decent profit on the reported €18.5 million fee they paid the Amsterdam based club in the summer of 2022.
A bidding war between rivals Manchester United and Liverpool could have seen that fee rise even higher.
Ryan Gravenberch stats, strengths and weaknesses
Gravenberch can play in any of the central midfield positions. In possession, his 58 passes per 90 are solid but some way short of what you would want from a top quality deep lying playmaker.
But his 6.88 progressive passes and overall pass completion of 87.4% put him amongst the top 6% of midfielders in the 2022/23 Bundesliga season, and showcased an ability to progress the play and be very tidy on the ball.
The Dutch International also has the calibre to accurately find teammates with long passes, and was in the 98th percentile of Bundesliga midfielders at this last season.
This is certainly an action that he should incorporate into his game more regularly.
Gravenberch excels in deeper areas where he can use the dribbling and ball carrying that form the most fundamental part of his game. He uses his 1.90 metre frame to receive the ball under pressure, and can use his strength and skill to turn and carry it up the pitch.
His 1.72 successful take-ons and 2.81 carries into final third per 90 rank very high compared to positional peers in the league. Even without the ball, his first instinct is usually to run into space to join the attacking line.
Although Gravenberch is not a creative force when he gets into the final third, he is a clean striker of the ball and is much more comfortable taking attempts on goal from distance, with almost 2 shots per 90.
Defensively, the 21-year-old has a good reading of the game and positions himself well to make interceptions and ball recoveries. But winning only 40% of his aerials shows that some of his defensive numbers fall short of elite defensive midfielders.
All the above point to Gravenberch being much more suited as a box-to-box midfielder in the number 8 role. If he ended up at Manchester United, he would complement Casemiro much better than Mason Mount as part of a double pivot.
For Liverpool, he is clearly not defensively sound enough to play as the deepest midfielder, and that role will be filled in the short term by new signing Wataru Endō.
This means that he could play in a pivot alongside Endō and help with build up, progression and providing better defensive cover.
Gravenberch has a very good foundation and is still at a very coachable age. Regular game time in a system that suits him will set him off to fulfil his enormous potential.
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