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Ryan Gravenberch can thrive in place of Martín Zubimendi for Liverpool
Liverpool’s summer transfer plans are in tatters.
There’s no other way to dress it up.
The Reds made Martin Zubimendi a priority and after the Real Sociedad maestro gave his word to the Merseyside club, they didn’t even bother sounding out any alternatives. The Euro 2024 winner would come in to anchor Arne Slot’s new-look midfield at Anfield.
At least that was the plan.
The LaLiga side, who have already sold Robin Le Normand to Atletico Madrid and now look set to lose Mikel Merino to Arsenal, decided to do their all to keep the Basque-born Zubimendi.
They reportedly went on a charm offensive and put together a PowerPoint presentation on reasons to remain in San Sebastian, citing the mountains and the food in the region.
It was a bold strategy on their part, but it worked.
After a week of uncertainty, the midfielder decided to reject the Premier League team. He’s now said no to the Reds, Arsenal, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Liverpool had put all of their time and effort into convincing the Real Sociedad midfielder that Anfield was the place for him to develop his career, offering to treble his salary, only for the Spaniard to be swayed by mountains.
According to Paul Joyce of The Times, it was Zubimendi or no one. The 2019/20 Premier League champions were convinced that he was the player for them and that there were no available alternatives.
Slot was forced to look internally for a short-term solution. In doing so, he may have found a long-term solution in Ryan Gravenberch.
The Dutch midfielder is yet to find a home in the Liverpool team following his move from Bayern Munich last summer. He started well for the Reds and showed glimpses of real quality in certain games.
But, at best, he was inconsistent during his debut season in England. There also seemed to be a midfield imbalance when he was deployed alongside Dominik Szoboszlai as one of the two No8s.
Both struggled to be at their effective best when the other was in the same starting XI. Both tried to be progressive and probing and it meant Liverpool, as a team, suffered due to a lack of control.
However, this new dynamic in midfield, with Gravenberch flanked by Alexis Mac Allister and Szoboszlai, seems much better balanced.
Gravenberch played his way into Slot’s first-team plans.Th e Dutch tactician tried Wataru Endo, Curtis Jones and Szoboszlai in a deeper role before settling on his compatriot.
Ahead of the season opener against Ipswich, Slot made it clear that Gravenberch still has work to do in that role when speaking to TNT Sports: “I think he has the attributes to play there.
“He has to develop in that position, that’s also clear, but he’s comfortable with the ball, he can run, he can keep running. And then Macca can play a bit higher up the pitch which fits him really well. But let’s see how it works out today. Against Sevilla it worked out really well and against United as well.”
After a sluggish first-half, the Reds stepped it up after the break and claimed a 2-0 win. On another day, it could’ve been a 5-0 win. Liverpool looked like a completely different team in the second half and Gravenberch played his part.
The 22-year-old had the third-most touches (71) and only one player completed more passes than his 51. He also played the joint-most passes into the final third (nine).
The versatile midfielder wasn’t perfect, winning just one of his three tackles and six of his 12 duels, but he’s learning on the job.
Gravenberch looked comfortable in the deeper role in Liverpool’s possession-heavy style. He was able to carve out space. He relieved the pressure in the defensive third and, perhaps most importantly, he was progressive in his play.
Slot, who ruthlessly hauled Jarell Quansah off at half-time after the centre-back lost too many duels in the first half, complimented his No38.
“Of course, Ryan is attacking minded but if we play with him [in defensive midfield] the rest of the team needs to help him as well,” said the 45-year-old.
“It takes a lot of effort from the attackers and the attacking midfielders to help him there. But what we do know with Ryan is that he can play the ball forward if he sees options to do so. So, that helped us today, especially in the second-half.”
Sublime team move 🤩 pic.twitter.com/mAtlwpU2Ce
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 17, 2024
Slot might be forced to stick with Gravenberch in this role if the Reds don’t delve into the transfer market before the window shuts.
It could turn out to be a blessing if the head coach is able to develop him into his ideal holding midfielder. He has the physical traits for it - he’s 6ft2, aggressive out of possession and progressive with the ball.
He’s not too dissimilar in terms of physical profile to Mats Wieffer, Slot’s anchor during his time at Feyenoord.
Patience will be required while he develops with every passing game, but it could prove to be worthwhile.
The chaos of missing out on Zubimendi presented Gravenberch with an unlikely opportunity.
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