Ryan Gravenberch has revealed Liverpool manager Arne Slot has challenged him to establish himself as a deep-lying midfielder this season.
A £34m signing from Bayern Munich last summer, Gravenberch is still seeking to cement a place in Liverpool’s starting lineup, having struggled for minutes alongside the likes of Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai last season under former boss Jurgen Klopp.
Slot, however, deployed Gravenberch at the base of his midfield during Liverpool‘s 2-0 win over Ipswich Town on opening weekend and is keen to see the 22-year-old make the position his own.
“I had a little chat with [Slot] and he said I have to focus on the No.6 and No.8 positions,” Gravenberch told club media.
“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.”
Gravenberch impressed against Ipswich / Marc Atkins/GettyImages
Klopp even took the chance to discuss Gravenberch’s new position in a recent interview with ESPN.
“Ryan now plays a new role,” Klopp began. “New coach, new opportunity, these kinds of things.
“I like him a lot, Ryan, as a player. He had mini injuries and stuff like that but he played top games for us. Now he plays a different position, really nice to see.”
Gravenberch will hope the tactical tweak brings an end to years of struggling to establish himself following his departure from Ajax in 2022. He started just three Bundesliga games during his only season with Bayern and stretched that number to 12 in his first Premier League campaign last year.
