There was some concern across the Liverpool fanbase over Ryan Gravenberch’s potential transfer amid reports of the move being contingent on Joao Palhinha’s switch to Bayern Munich.
The latter sadly didn’t materialise for Thomas Tuchel’s men, though that actually had no bearing on the former and the Reds were left to officially complete their midfield rebuild.
It’s the final move in particular that attracted praise from European journalist Rafa Honigstein (author of Klopp: Bring the Noise), with the German crediting the Merseysiders with having pulled off a ‘great move’.
“I think it’s a great move for Liverpool because they were in for Gravenberch the season before, but he went to Bayern,” the reporter spoke on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Euro Leagues podcast (via BBC Sport).
“I think he will be a better fit for the Liverpool system with three midfielders.
“He comes into his own in the opposition half, he likes to dribble a bit. He needed to make that move because Thomas Tuchel made it clear that he did not see much of a future for Gravenberch.”
This has the potential makings of a transfer similar to the likes of a Fabinho in the sense of the player being likely to be slowly drafted into the side.
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Admittedly, with so many new faces in the middle of the park, all bets could very well be off come our trip to the Molyneux after the international break.
Though, it’s worth bearing in mind that Gravenberch had been subjected to limited minutes in Munich amid the turmoil of a change in management.
READ MORE: Why Ryan Gravenberch won’t make his debut against Aston Villa after LFC signing
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano confirms midnight transfer news Liverpool fans will love
The Dutchman has played the grand total of nine minutes this term, with only 937 minutes registered across the entirety of the 2022/23 campaign.
The word from the club is that the player looks fit and raring to go having already conducted a pre-season, though we have to imagine that he’s perhaps a little less supercharged for the challenges ahead when compared to our other arrivals in Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister.
That said, we’ve every faith that this will be a signing to look forward to!
#Ep88 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️