Big high-fives, handshakes and a growing number of appreciation tweets. If there’s one player standing out for Liverpool in this steady start to the Premier League season, it’s Ryan Gravenberch, who has gone from fringe player to emerging force under Arne Slot.
Had Liverpool got their way and signed Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad this month, Gravenberch would have been left wondering where he fitted in at Anfield, just 11 months after joining the club.
Since former manager Jurgen Klopp signed Gravenberch on deadline day last summer, the 22-year-old had failed to hold down a position in the team or show where he is best suited. Yet two games into the season — and granted it’s only a small sample size, against two teams in Ipswich Town and Brentford who Liverpool would expect to beat — Gravenberch looks at home in the deep-lying midfield role in Slot’s system.
He is quick with his feet, comfortable with his back to goal and able to play out of tight spaces, all specific requirements for a No 6 under Slot.
There was frustration and disappointment when Zubimendi — identified as the perfect defensive midfielder for a new-look Liverpool team — decided he was staying in Spain. Instead of moving onto an alternative target, however, Slot began looking for solutions within and recognised quickly that Gravenberch’s qualities had been underused.
The Netherlands international is never going to be a gritty ball-winner who crunches into tackles and breaks up play, but Slot isn’t looking for that.
Instead, Liverpool’s head coach believes that his No 6 should have enough support around him to focus on leading a possession-based approach through controlled but fast build-up play. The early signs are encouraging. Liverpool completed 92 per cent of passes against Brentford — a 20-year Premier League record for the club as Slot asks for “every pass to count”, especially in the phase where Gravenberch is now so influential.
The former Bayern Munich man completed the most passes (72) and also chipped in with a surprisingly strong defensive performance, winning the most tackles (three) and making the most recoveries (nine).
Despite picking up an early booking, he remained on the pitch for 91 minutes, highlighting his growing influence. “It’s nice to inherit a team and individuals who are so special,” says Slot.
But can Gravenberch be the long-term answer to a position that has raised so much debate?
Liverpool’s most eye-catching moves are when Gravenberch is in possession.
He is calm but doesn’t take too many touches. The nice little flicks and quick releases have the biggest impact. This position — dropping between the opposing lines — is where he can be the most destructive, even if he is surrounded by opponents.
Gravenberch provides a constant out-ball for his defensive team-mates, too, and can then spin away and start attacks.
He swings his hips to glide away from opponents, like in this moment against Brentford. The picture below shows the position he has taken up to receive the ball from Virgil van Dijk, in between the lines. When he receives it, he can go either way and keep play moving.
Only Southampton’s Flynn Downes and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne have played more passes this season than Gravenberch’s 122. It could be argued that had team-mate Alexis MacAllister been deployed in the base of the midfield, he also would have excelled, but part of the thinking was to allow the Argentinian more freedom in advanced positions.
Gravenberch’s style is slightly different yet he drops the shoulder so effectively in the same way and plays freely with both feet. He has started attacks on so many occasions in the opening two games.
He is not quite the press-resistant machine that Manchester City’s Rodri can claim to be but there’s plenty for Slot to work with. Gravenberch’s nine recoveries were also higher than any of the average figures recorded by Liverpool players last season. It is a step in the right direction.
Tougher tests will follow and only then will Liverpool know whether Gravenberch is a long-term starter for the role. This was always the concern last season when Klopp missed out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia and instead went for a stop-gap in Wataru Endo. Competing with Manchester City and Arsenal in the title race was much tougher without a world-class holding midfielder.
The early performances of City and Arsenal this season show how crucial it is to have an outstanding No 6 at the top of his game. City pressed high to cut off passing lanes for Chelsea in their first game and Arsenal stifled Aston Villa to reduce space in the build-up on Sunday. Liverpool haven’t faced that level of resistance from high-level opponents yet, so Gravenberch, as good as he has been, needs longer in the position before he can be properly judged.
Slot’s in-game intelligence will be helpful. He has already shown he can quickly spot problems and find solutions, most notably when he replaced Jarell Quansah with Ibrahima Konate at half-time at Ipswich because the 21-year-old centre-half had lost too many defensive duels.
There was also a major switch in Gravenberch’s role between the opening two games, specifically when Liverpool attacked from a corner.
Against Ipswich, Gravenberch was asked to stand on the goalkeeper, an instruction he followed for each set piece. That left Liverpool light on numbers when Ipswich counter-attacked and, in the first half, the promoted club had great joy, especially after winning first contact on five of the nine corners.
Here you can see where Gravenberch starts, almost on the toes of goalkeeper Christian Walton.
… and how here, from an earlier corner, he is struggling to get back to defend as Ipswich break.
Yet look at the difference against Brentford.
This is Gravenberch’s starting position from the first corner. He is the deepest man, way behind MacAllister and Dominik Szoboszlai, and well-positioned to deal with a counter-attack.
When Brentford clear the ball from a corner, you can see that Gravenberch is in a better position to sweep up.
It was a key change and just another part of how Gravenberch is evolving, albeit through a little trial and error, in these early days as part of Slot’s machine.
(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
