Ryan Gravenberch has been urged to take up a new position for Liverpool by a former Dutch legend ahead of Arne Slot’s arrival at Anfield.
Liverpool are bracing themselves for one of their biggest summers in a decade with new boss Arne Slot being tasked with a rebuild at Anfield this summer.
Jurgen Klopp and his staff have departed Anfield and there will be a new man at the helm for the first time in nine years. Slot was very successful during his time at Feyenoord and there is hope that he can be a success in England.
One player who has struggled since moving to the club is fellow Dutchman Ryan Gravenberch, who moved to Anfield last summer from Bayern Munich.
Van Der Vaart on Gravenberch’s new position
Speaking to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rafael Van Der Vaart has spoken about the former Ajax star and believes he should take up a new position.
“I advise Ryan to opt for a role as a defensive midfielder,” Van Der Vaart said. “That will not be an easy choice for him, because he can do much more. You can compare it with Nigel de Jong in the past.
“Nigel could do much more than the subservient controller he eventually became. But in that specific role he reached an absolute top level. Nigel decided he was going to be a pit bull and that’s it. Ryan is also very versatile and I recommend him to make a similar choice. In a role like Patrick Vieira once played at Arsenal and France.”
When Gravenberch first broke through at Ajax, the Dutchman played in a more box-to-box role and showed a lot of similar characteristics to that of former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.
Gravenberch’s decision
With a new manager coming into the club this summer, it is highly likely that he will want to bring in his own players and set a new identity at the club and the Dutch midfielder may not fit that.
If Gravenberch were to move deeper into a more defensive role, this could well be a key decision with the Reds not currently having a plethora of defensive midfield options to choose from.
With VfB Stuttgart loanee Wataru Endo returning to the German side, Gravenberch could well have a chance to stake a claim for that role in the team.