Remarkable Ryan Gravenberch stat suggests that he’s already a big upgrade for Liverpool

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Liverpool, Ryan Gravenberch
Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch celebrates after scoring during a match between Belgian soccer team Royale Union Saint Gilloise and English Liverpool FC, on Wednesday 04 October 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, on day 2 of the group phase of the UEFA Europa League competition, in group E. BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR (Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR / BELGA MAG / Belga via AFP) (Photo by VIRGINIE LEFOUR/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)

Ryan Gravenberch netted his first goal for Liverpool just before half-time in tonight’s Europa League clash against Union Saint-Gilloise, but it’s by no means his first meaningful contribution in a red shirt.

The 21-year-old had already provided two assists since his deadline day move from Bayern Munich five weeks ago, both of which came in his previous starts for the Reds against LASK and Leicester.

As noted by Theo Squires on X, the Dutchman wasted little time in equalling the goal contributions tally of one of his midfield predecessors from the entirety of last season.

The journalist posted: In just three starts for #LFC, Ryan Gravenberch has equalled the total goal contributions Jordan Henderson produced from 43 appearances in his final season at Anfield.”

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Prior to tonight, Gravenberch had played just 162 minutes for Liverpool (Transfermarkt), a tally which reached 206 by the time he found the net against Union SG.

That’s still less than 10% of the 2,558 that Henderson played in his final season at Anfield, with the Englishman claiming three assists and failing to find the net at all in 2022/23 (Transfermarkt).

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One of the biggest criticism of the Reds’ midfield last term was the glaring lack of scoring impact, with Harvey Elliott the only player in that area of the pitch to net more than three times, ending the campaign with five goals (Transfermarkt).

The early signs from Gravenberch are that he could easily match or surpass the 20-year-old’s tally in his first season for Liverpool, especially if he shows the same goalscoring instincts which enabled him to latch onto the loose ball for his opener tonight.

Having already matched Henderson’s goal contributions tally from 2022/23, the Dutchman looks like quite the upgrade in the middle of the park!

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