Dirk Kuyt makes 'exciting' prediction Ryan Gravenberch prediction after Liverpool transfer
Former Liverpool man Dirk Kuyt has backed Ryan Gravenberch to succeed at Anfield after his transfer from Bayern Munich
Former Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt has backed compatriot Ryan Gravenberch to hit the ground running at Anfield - insisting Jurgen Klopp has added an "unbelievable" talent to his ranks.
Gravenberch became Liverpool's fourth and final signing of the summer when they sealed an initial £34m deal with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich for the 21-year-old, who signed a five-year contract.
His move to Merseyside occurred just 12 months after he had made the switch to Bavaria. During his time in Germany, Gravenberch was limited to just three league starts as he fell behind Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka in the Bayern pecking order.
And having found himself largely confined to the substitutes' bench last season, Kuyt has backed Gravenberch to become a success under Reds boss Klopp and return to the levels that saw him once regarded as one of the most promising talents in Europe while at Ajax.
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"First of all, he’s a very intelligent player," Liverpool cult hero Kuyt told BettingSites. "He was unbelievable at Ajax. He always managed to play at a very high level at a very young age. He then took the next step at Bayern Munich - which got me very excited as it proves he could play with the best in Europe.
"Unfortunately, he didn’t get the game time he expected there. When I heard the rumours about him going to Liverpool I was very excited. I think he’ll definitely fit into Jurgen’s team and I expect a lot from him."
Following his move to the Reds, Gravenberch rejected the opportunity to join up with his Holland Under-21 team-mates, instead deciding to focus on finding his feet in his new home ahead of a potential Premier League debut against Wolves next weekend.
"Hopefully he can get back to the level we saw at Ajax," added Kuyt. "He was unable to do that at Bayern as he didn’t have many games, but I think he's a player who can run forever and has great quality with his feet.
"Not only can he run forever, but his quality on the ball is amazing. He can pick the ball up from his defenders, but also feed the ball into the strikers. The quality of his runs are amazing, and so is his passing. He’s also very young and he’ll bring a lot of things to the team."