A three-year-long insider transfer saga that provided the explanation for why Liverpool did not sign another No. 6 was exposed.
According to a special report from our Liverpool FC journalist Paul Gorst, the Reds finally acquired Ryan Gravenberch on deadline day, a player who had been a longterm transfer priority for them.
Nearly three years have passed since Ryan Gravenberch’s talent was first made known to Jurgen Klopp.
Liverpool were put to the test in the Johan Cruyff ArenA in October 2020 as Premier League champions as Gravenberch, then 18 years old, was chosen to play in the middle of the park for the hosts in a Champions League group encounter.
The young player, who played alongside two more seasoned teammates in Davy Klaassen and Daley Blind, put up an impressive performance against the Reds in a game played behind closed doors to strengthen his budding reputation as one of the brightest prospects in Dutch football.
Gravenberch appeared to be the most recent in a long series of alumni who were clearly headed for more, and it is possible that no other academy in Europe can claim to have had such historical success as the one in Amsterdam. Klopp’s team won thanks to an own goal from Nicolas Tagliafico in the first half, but not before they were put to the test at one of the continent’s great, albeit empty, cathedrals.
At Anfield, where he was once again paired with Klaassen and recently acquired West Ham United midfielder Edson Alvarez, Gravenberch’s performance was noteworthy once more. Curtis Jones capitalized on an error made by former Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana to give Liverpool a second consecutive 1-0 victory. It was yet another Ajax error that gave Liverpool the edge.
