Liverpool has had a strong start to the year. Many may have written off Jürgen Klopp’s team as a legitimate title challenger after last season’s setback, but given the Reds’ outstanding start and the circumstances surrounding it, nobody can do so at this moment.
For Ryan Gravenberch, entering a side like that makes things slightly more challenging. Klopp has discovered a successful formula, and once they do, managers don’t want to chop and alter.
However, Gravenberch’s move’s timing has a benefit. The majority of Liverpool’s stars were absent during the international break, so the Netherlands international chose to decline a call-up from his U21 national team and remain at the AXA training facility instead in order to get accustomed to his new surroundings and perhaps catch the attention of his new manager as well.
Following the break for international play, Liverpool will play Wolves in an early game, so Klopp won’t have much time to prepare some of his players, particularly the South American team that will play on Tuesday night, early Wednesday morning UK time. It’s unlikely that any of those players would participate in training until Thursday at the earliest because of the lengthy travel, which can last between 10 and 12 hours.
The fact that Gravenberch chose to stay behind gives him a significant edge against Alexis Mac Allister, even if the latter will still likely get the ball against the Wolves.
Liverpool will be able to learn a lot about where Gravenberch is at and whether he is ready to be involved right away with over two weeks to prepare for Wolves.
Gravenberch is physically fit despite not seeing much action for Bayern Munich. He participated in this summer’s U21 Euros and had a full preseason. There won’t be any issues with that.
At Liverpool, that position is a little bit different, and whether Gravenberch suits it, the club will only discover on the training pitch. This is why the next week or so will be a huge opportunity for the young Dutchman. Without Mac Allister, and with Wataru Endō only set to return on Wednesday given Japan is playing a friendly on Tuesday, while Stefan Bajčetić will play with Spain U21 on Monday night, Gravenberch will have a huge advantage over his positional rivals to prove himself in front of Klopp in a more intimate setting with less competition. Now it’s just up to him to prove he has got it in him to play that number six role.
