Liverpool signed transfer gem hidden in plain sight and Klopp has new Wijnaldum
Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and winger Luis Díaz.
It was only in short bursts, and it wasn’t the main talking point as Liverpool beat Everton, but Jürgen Klopp has discovered another hidden gem in the transfer market. Dominik Szoboszlai was exceptional and Alexis Mac Allister is going to prove to be a bargain, but there is someone else who should not be forgotten.
Given he has played for Ajax and Bayern Munich and has therefore been a regular in the Champions League for a few years, it might be strange to call him ‘hidden’. Hidden in plain sight is perhaps more accurate. But Bayern Munich’s decision not to use Ryan Gravenberch looks stranger by the fixture.
In one turn, he spun away from three Everton players at one point, almost like Gini Wijnaldum but with more silkiness and less use of his backside, protecting the ball and springing an attack. Gravenberch was arguably the best player on the pitch in the first half before he became jaded and was replaced by Harvey Elliott, who has really carved out a spot as an expert impact sub.
In time, that match fitness will continue to improve. Coming off just after the hour mark, Gravenberch was impressive for the majority of his 62 minutes. He was fouled the most times out of anyone on the pitch and only gave the ball away once (an impressive 31 out of his 32 attempted passes foul their target, which is just short of 97 per cent).
The 21-year-old Dutchman was able to compete physically in the center of the pitch and he barely gave the ball away when he had it, either by passing or dribbling. Defensively, he played his part, and he showed good discipline not to chase down and vacate his position when Everton tried to tempt him to break the midfield structure. A comparison to Wijnaldum, someone who kept the ball expertly and helped progress it too, is an accurate one.
There is no doubt that Szoboszlai has been the most obviously impressive Liverpool summer signing to date. Mac Allister was good here too but it was the Hungary captain’s showing that stole the limelight again.
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Gravenberch, though, must not be overlooked. Preferred over the option of playing Mac Allister in a more advanced role and having Wataru Endō, who didn’t even come off the bench, as the number six, Gravenberch showed another big glimpse of his promise — and, slowly, those glimpses are becoming slightly longer.
The next step for the young midfielder is to be able to sustain his performance level for a whole game. If he could play at the standard he was doing for the first 45 minutes across double that time period (and then some, given the amount of added time there is this season), then Liverpool will really know it has a top-class new midfield player.
Against Everton, it was another type of game in which he has shown himself to be more than capable of standing out. In Gravenberch, Liverpool has found a gem — seeing what Bayern Munich somehow couldn’t.
