Ex-Red lets his thoughts be known about 21-y/o Liverpool man; questions what he brings to Klopp’s side
Steve Nicol has labelled last night’s performance of one Liverpool man as ‘awful’ and has questioned what the 21-year-old brings to Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Ryan Gravenberch was signed from Bayern Munich in the summer in a deal worth £34.2m (Sky Sports) but despite some promising performances when he first joined the club he’s struggled to make any real impact when called upon by our German tactician in recent weeks.
He had a night to forget against Fulham last night and was replaced by Darwin Nunez after just 11 minutes of second half action before late strikes from Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo earned us a 2-1 win ahead of the return leg in a fortnight.
“I spoke about Gravenberch before the game, and I thought, quite frankly, he was awful and did absolutely nothing to push Klopp into starting him anytime soon,” Nicol told ESPN (via The Boot Room),
“I haven’t [seen anything since he signed]. I don’t remember any significant difference when he’s on the field. I don’t remember any assists. I certainly don’t remember if he’s got a goal. I don’t remember anything about him. And today, well, he did today what he’s been doing in my opinion, not a lot.”
The Netherlands international has registered two goals and two assists across all competitions this term but has been far from his best in recent weeks.
His ability to drive forward from midfield and beat players with his impressive close control is something that caught the eye during the early weeks of the season but his lively performances appear to have stopped.
Gravenberch was recognised as one of Europe’s most exciting prospects during his time at Ajax before he completed a move to Bayern in the summer of 2022.
He struggled for regular game time at the Allianz Arena, however, and a move to Liverpool appeared to be what he needed to get his career back on track.
There’s no doubt that he’s got a bright future ahead of him and he can be a vital player for Klopp and Co. moving forward – but we need to see more from him in the coming weeks as we aim to pick up silverware this term.
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