Jurgen Klopp has seemingly been given the green light by the Liverpool board regarding one reported transfer pursuit over the summer as the Reds push to fend off competition from a Premier League rival.
The Mirror have claimed that the Anfield hierarchy are set to back the manager’s wishes to try and land Ryan Gravenberch, with their interest in the Bayern Munich midfielder believed to be ‘more advanced’ than that of Manchester United.
The report stated that the Merseysiders are ‘pushing’ to sign the 21-year-old, who’s ‘open to an exit’ from the Bundesliga champions and is set to make a decision on his future when he returns from representing Netherlands at the European Under-21 Championship.
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Bayern president Herbert Hainer has publicly insisted that the Dutchman will get more game-time next season (BILD), with the midfielder having expressed his frustration at only being a bit-part player in Munich during the 2022/23 campaign (De Telegraaf, via Flashscore) .
On face level that may sound like Gravenberch will stay put, but it could simply be an attempt from the Allianz Arena chief to persuade the player to resist any temptation to move on from the club.
The Mirror added that Liverpool had agreed during previous negotiations to offer a contract which’d match his current £200,000-per-week salary, which’d make him the joint-third highest earner in Klopp’s squad.
It’s a significant financial commitment, but this is a summer where the Reds need to be some bit bold in ensuring that priority transfer targets don’t slip through the cracks.
If the manager firmly wishes to get Gravenberch to Anfield, and if it means making sure that United don’t steal in to sign him, the LFC hierarchy must spare no effort in trying to pull it off. We don’t want to be talking about the Dutchman in the same ‘one that got away’ manner that we now associate with Jude Bellingham.