- Ryan Gravenberch scored his first Liverpool goal in their Europa League victory
- The midfielder signed from Bayern Munich in the final hours of the window
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘ It’s All Kicking Off!’
Jurgen Klopp says Deadline Day signing Ryan Gravenberch is ‘top class’, a ‘smart boy’ and has ‘raw power’ after the Dutch midfielder opened his Liverpool account with a goal against Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday.
Gravenberch signed from Bayern Munich in the final hours of the transfer window after a frustrating year with the German champions. Liverpool had courted the 21-year-old since his days in Ajax’s academy and finally had their man to complete a summer of four midfield arrivals.
And though he has not established himself as a certain starter for Klopp’s team, Gravenberch has impressed many fans with his dynamism. He has a goal and two assists in his three starts for the Reds, already matching Jordan Henderson’s tally for the club in the whole of last season.
‘He has raw power, yeah, I am not sure a lot of people would have described him as that in the past,’ said Klopp after Gravenberch and Diogo Jota helped Liverpool to another Europa League win on Thursday. ‘He is technically incredibly good.
‘That first touch is insane, the speed is top class, he’s a really good shooter, he is a really good player. Yes, he came late (in the transfer window), and yes we play slightly differently (to Bayern) and he needs time to adapt. That is what we can give him, thank god.
Ryan Gravenberch scored his first Liverpool goal in their win over Union Saint-Gilloise
Jurgen Klopp has described the £34m summer signing from Bayern Munich as ‘top class’
‘He is completely happy with that and in the groove, he realises each training session he is treated completely like others whether he starts or not. He gets even more information in specific moments, he can see what the other boys do in similar positions.
‘He learns, he is a smart boy, everything is going in the right direction and that is really nice to see. He has assisted in the other games and now he has his first goal. It is good. Long may it…