Ryan Gravenberch joined Liverpool a little over a year ago, and nobody realised at the time that he would end up being Jurgen Klopp’s last addition to the team.
The Dutch midfielder’s first season in England was uneven; while he was impressive during the Reds’ autumn Europa League run, he occasionally found it difficult to adjust to the Premier League’s faster pace and physicality.
Though no midfield additions were made during the summer, Arne Slot trusted the 22-year-old with the number 6 position, and he has flourished in the first few months of his countryman’s tenure as head coach.
Here, we examine a few of the statistical gains Gravenberch has already achieved in the first few months of the 2024–2025 campaign. Check out the odds provided by the top betting services for competitive predictions on Liverpool’s performance this season.
The Dutchman has played every minute of Liverpool’s opening three league games, clocking up 540 minutes overall. That is equivalent to nearly half of his Premier League game time from the previous season and 96/4% of his total Bundesliga tally from his one miserable season at Bayern Munich in 2022–2023 (Transfermarkt).
The 22-year-old has improved on a number of critical performance measures in the opening few weeks of the new campaign compared to his averages from 2023–24, according to data from WhoScored.
His passing efficiency in the league has increased from 83.4% to 88.9%, and he has made 2.5 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game this season compared to one tackle and 0.5 interceptions the previous one. Although he is now playing a deeper role, his stats for shots and crucial passes per match have decreased.
According to FBref, Gravenberch has already garnered more tackles in this season than he did in all of 2023–2024. Additionally, he has increased his rate of successful take-ons from 46% to 50% and his tackling success from 41.4% to 66.7%.
Additionally, even though he has been used further back on the pitch this season, he has already completed 39 passes into the final third, more than he did in the entire previous term (35).
Undoubtedly, his increased playing time has improved his statistics, but despite the stats, the Dutchman seems more comfortable playing a deeper role under Slot than he was playing at number eight under Klopp.
He’s already a good fit for the brief that his new manager has given him because of the grace with which he receives the ball on half-turns and the freedom to drive forward in possession. If he can continue to build on his strong start to the season, the calls for Liverpool to sign a new defensive midfielder may go away.
Although it’s true that there isn’t enough data to form firm conclusions about Gravenberch in his new position, the early evidence points to him being one of Anfield’s biggest success stories this year.
