Elite Ryan Gravenberch Ticks All the Boxes – Ace All-Round Talent For Liverpool FC

Badly-timed move to dysfunctional Bayern shouldn't define this elite talent

Ryan Gravenberch is a player I've long thought ideal for Liverpool. (Give me a talented player over 6’3” and I’m almost always happy.)

Assuming that Jörg Schmadtke doesn't negotiate with increments of ten-pound notes and 2nd-class stamps with the Queen's head on (and Bayern Munich are happy to sell), this feels like an easy deal to get done.

One idea that I don't get about Gravenberch, who tends to play more often as a no.8, is that he cannot also be a defensive midfielder.

N'Golo Kanté became the best in the world in the position, but despite his pace, energy and tackling ability, at Gravenberch's age had played one single professional game, lower in the French footballing pyramid.

If someone is tall, fast, and can press and tackle (and he can), they've already ticked a lot of boxes.

Add skill on the ball, either with dribbling and passing, and you've got a ready-made no.6 in waiting, even if he's more of a no.8 right now.

The modern no.6 needs to be comfortable in possession too, and to start moves in various ways. Fabinho was almost old school, in that he didn't progress the ball that much.

One of the reasons Moisés Caicedo was so expensive was his complete range of skills, but Gravenberch is probably an even more complete footballer, and four inches taller.

Caicedo can do everything you need from a no.6, but Gravenberch has the skillset to move further upfield with the ball in open play (and set-pieces). Caicedo does not.

As it stands, Gravenberch already matches Caicedo's defensive numbers, albeit often when playing as a sub.

Gravenberch is also 96th percentile for shot-creating actions; Caicedo 59th. The ex-Brighton man is 30th for xG + expected assists; Gravenberch 83rd percentile.

Different teams, different leagues, but Gravenberch has a fully balanced set of stats (including has last full season at Ajax, aged 19, that I'll get onto).

Barring injuries, all defensive skills improve with age and experience, up the point where the body begins to decline. Reading the game is not something that's fully formed at a young age.

Plus, physical skills develop at different rates (on average, pace peaks mid-20s, strength late 20s into early 30s, and stamina can peak later and longer).

At 21, Virgil van Dijk had just completed his first full season in the Groningen team. He wasn't an elite defender; three years away from a Netherlands debut (four until he was a regular), and still another year away from a move to the heady heights of Scottish football.

But while Gravenberch ticks all the footballing boxes, there are other reasons why settling and fitting in at Liverpool should be easier than it might for others.

And while I like Wataru Endo a lot, for reasons I'll list, Gravenberch has the game (and physicality) to become an elite no.6, if that's the role he's chosen for; that he's an excellent no.8 is already established.

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