It has been business as usual at Liverpool since Arne Slot’s arrival this summer.
Limited transfer activity, coupled with no significant departures (bar Thiago Alcântara, though he seldom featured last term), has led to his Reds starting lineup being pretty much the same as his predecessors’, with two notable exceptions.
A quick look at the starting eleven that played against Manchester United before the September international break: nine were in their usual positions under Klopp’s management. The change made by Slot was having Diogo Jota leading the attack, but more notably, a spot for Ryan Gravenberch in midfield.
The adage of seizing an opportunity applies here. A promising graduate of Ajax’s esteemed youth setup, Gravenberch was earmarked as Frenkie de Jong’s natural successor. He would make over 100 appearances before joining Bayern Munich, where opportunities (that word again) were too few and far between.
Liverpool offered an escape route last summer, but the Dutchman seldom featured in Klopp’s plans. Instead, he was featured 38 times, predominantly as a squad player. Signed for the long haul, Gravenberch turned 22 this past May. It could have been a case of easing him into new surroundings, but any such thinking has gone out the window with compatriot Slot at the helm, with the Amsterdammer effectively replacing Wataru Endo from last season’s midfield. A personal change that has earned praise for both the manager and the player.
Gravenberch has featured in each of Liverpool’s opening three Premier League outings, completing the full 90 minutes on each occasion. Consequently, the Reds have conceded seven shots on target so far this season, with only defending champions Manchester City (six) doing better in this regard.
Having made 12 prior appearances for the Netherlands, he earned a 13th cap against Bosnia and Herzegovina, his third-ever international start. Rafael van der Vaart commented during the game, “Ryan Gravenberch is playing very well! He looks sharp, like a free man, dynamic, always between the lines. He is playing with so much confidence, it’s finally showing!”
Van der Vaart, who is fast becoming well-known for a hot take or two, earlier this year declared Gravenberch to be superior to Jude Bellingham, stating, “What I think is the big difference (between the two players) is that Bellingham plays for a lesser club and always plays,” he told Ziggo Sport. “I think Gravenberch is better than him in every way, especially physically.”
What is Ryan Gravenberch’s new role at Liverpool?
Under Klopp’s tutelage, you would see Liverpool’s midfield resembling a classic Dutch one with a single pivot (Endo) operating behind two mobile number 8s, predominantly Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, while two of those members remain Gravenberch has since been fielded alongside Mac Allister in a double pivot, with Szoboszlai in a more advanced number 10 role as Slot prefers a 4-2-3-1 setup.
Even so, Gravenberch operates in a deep-lying role, with instructions to sit. He is described as a “number six” or controller, a particular type of footballer with whom he and his manager are familiar, as Gravenberch grew up performing that role—one that must strike the right balance between energy and discipline. He is primarily involved in the initial build-up of attacks, as well as being tasked with retaining and recycling possession, stationed just in front of the mobile central defenders (at times becoming a “third centre-back” or, as Dutch journalist Henk Spaan once wrote, “point guard”).
On the qualities Gravenberch brings to the No. 6 position, Slot said after the win over Man Utd: “His quality on the ball could be my first answer, but I think coming from the Netherlands, we all know how good he is with the ball. He can be a really important player for our build-up play, but what impressed me most when I started working with him [was] how much he can run and then still how good he is when he arrives in the duel.
“Today, you saw with him, Dominik [Szoboszlai], and Macca [Alexis Mac Allister] how much they were able to keep running. Sometimes you’re late, but then they just kept running and arriving in the duel. So, that is the one thing that impressed me most about him: how good he also is without the ball.”
The numbers back it up as Szoboszlai (33.9 km) and Mac Allister (33.6 km) are in the top five Premier League players this season regarding distance covered. Gravenberch has produced one touch in the opposition’s box compared to six for Mac Allister and 12 for Szoboszlai, and while all three win the ball to similar extents, Gravenberch makes the most interceptions by far. Excluding defenders, he’s played the highest percentage of Liverpool’s passes (11.06%).
How does Gravenberch compare to Europe’s elite No.6 midfielders?
It’s still early days, but Gravenberch has looked very good. If he continues on this trajectory, it won’t be long before he’s rubbing shoulders with Europe’s elite number 6s, fulfilling the promise many placed on him.
But closer to home, how does Gravenberch fare against the Premier League’s finest—notably Declan Rice, usually in the conversation for the best in the role along with Rodri, arguably the incumbent, but he has yet to kick a ball in anger this season. In his absence, Mateo Kovačić, no slouch, has filled in.
Though it’s worth noting Manchester City’s system is so fluid and unique, Pep Guardiola requires more from his midfielders, with the Spanish tactician preferring not to label his players, as he once stated that formations are like telephone numbers.
But that is not what’s happening at Liverpool, where Gravenberch is enjoying a return to a deeper-lying role in midfield.
“I had a little chat with him [Slot] and he said I have to focus on the No.6 and No.8 positions,” he said in an interview with the club’s official website.
“Now I play at No.6. In the past I played it as well so I know what I have to do. I’ve enjoyed playing there. It’s a little bit of a different system than we played last season, but I think everyone has adapted to it. Now we have to build it further and further. I think at the end we can be a really dominant team.”
