A Spanish publication reported last week that Real Madrid want to sign Ryan Gravenberch, which would make sense, in fairness. Toni Kroos is still sorely missed at the Santiago Bernabeu after retiring after Euro 2024, as doubts persist over the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga to fill the void left behind by the genius German.
During the same story about Madrid's interest in Gravenberch, though, it was claimed that the Liverpool midfielder was 'valued at €65 million' – to which the obvious response is, by whom?! Nobody who had watched Gravenberch in action in the Merseyside derby at Anfield the day before would have put such a paltry price tag on the best player in the best team in England.
In his new role as a No.6, the Dutchman was absolutely integral to Liverpool running away with last season's Premier League – but having been given "a bit more freedom" to attack this term by Arne Slot, he's now showing why Rafael van der Vaart once described Gravenberch as "better than Jude Bellingham in every way"…
GettyTwo sliding-doors moments at Anfield
It's funny to think about it now but had Liverpool bought Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund for a nine-figure fee in the summer of 2023 – as was their dream – they wouldn't have signed Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo Gravenberch, the £34m deadline-day signing from Bayern Munich that felt like an after-thought, a last-minute attempt to address Jurgen Klopp's shortage of options in midfield.
What's more, had Liverpool managed to complete a deal for Martin Zubimendi last summer, it's highly unlikely that we'd have seen so much of Gravenberch in the defensive midfield position that he's made his own over the past year.
They say, though, that necessity is the mother of invention, and Slot's need for a No.6 specifically suited to his style of play completely changed the course of a career that was in danger of going off the rails in Munich.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportGoing 'crazy' under Nagelsmann
Gravenberch had arrived at the Allianz Arena in 2022 touted as one of the most exciting prospects in world football, the latest in a long line of potential superstars to come out of Ajax.
However, Gravenberch got very little game time under then-Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann, who has since claimed that he wasn't solely to blame, alleging that he felt under pressure to pick Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka ahead of the new arrival from the Netherlands.
"I was the new coach at FC Bayern and it wasn't easy to put players from the German national team on the bench," Nagelsmann told .
Whatever the truth, what we know for sure is that Gravenberch was devastated by spending so much time on the bench.
"Under Nagelsmann, I would go three matches in a row spending 90 minutes watching my team," he admitted. "That is when I started to go crazy in my head.
"In the winter, I was totally done with it, but during the last two months of the season under (Thomas) Tuchel, I got more minutes than in the entire period before."
Even when Bayern won the league, though, Gravenberch couldn't bring himself to properly celebrate the success.
"I was happy we were champions, but my contribution was small," he said. "I know we stood there as champions but I did not feel like a champion at all. It was a totally different feeling from all the other times I won trophies."
And particularly Liverpool's 2024-25 title win.
'Something I'll never forget'
Gravenberch was blown away by the outpouring of emotion that followed Liverpool winning a record-equalling 20th Championship.
"It was honestly something really special, something I'll never forget. The scenes on the bus as we approached Anfield before the Spurs game, that afternoon we won the league, will stay with me forever," the Premier League Young Player of the Season told Numero Netherlands.
"The passion on the fans' faces, the red flares, the noise, the songs, just seeing what it meant to them, it gave me goosebumps. That image will never leave me.
"The celebrations with the lads afterwards, that moment when it really hit us that we'd done it, was incredible. Liverpool's second Premier League title in five years, and my first.
"From my point of view, as a small child, you dream of these moments, so to achieve this is really special. I'm proud to have played a part in what was an unforgettable season."
Of course, Gravenberch hadn't just played a part, he'd been utterly integral to his team's triumph.
Getty Images Sport'This is it'
Gravenberch's talent was obvious during his first season at Liverpool under Klopp but he had still looked a little lost at times. After the Zubimendi U-turn, though, Slot found the perfect position for the Netherlands international in front of the back four.
However, Gravenberch adapted better – and quicker – to the change than even Slot imagined. Indeed, the player's father knew after the second match of the 2024-25 season, against Brentford, that everything was about to change for his son.
"One minute before the game ended, Arne took Ryan off so he could get the applause," Gravenberch senior told . "I was in the stands and the whole stadium stood up and applauded.
"I just broke down because I thought: 'They're doing this for my boy.' That was the moment where I thought: 'This is it.'" And it was.
As well as winning possession more times (193) in the Premier League last season than any other Liverpool player, and making more interceptions (60) than any other midfielder, Gravenberch also demonstrated a remarkable ability to break the opposition press that Slot attributes to a unique gift for gliding past opponents.
"This is a special quality Ryan has, that he can turn away from his man," Slot enthused. "He is one of the few holding midfielders, pivots, that can create an overload with a dribble.
"Mostly, these players pass a lot, and Ryan is good in passing as well. But to create an overload with a dribble, you don't see this many times from a No.6."
Slot really is right, then, when he says that Gravenberch is "unique". There are few better midfielders in the world right now.
Pedri and Vitinha are both absolutely outstanding while Rodri remains the standard by which all others are judged – but there isn't another No.6 in the game has Gravenberch's particular set of skills and the crazy thing is that, at 23, he's only going to get better.
We're already seeing an improvement, in fact.