Ten Hag's comments on Gravenberch speak volumes as Klopp wins transfer race
Liverpool will make Ryan Gravenberch their fourth midfield signing of the summer, and they need to look no further than Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag's past comments to learn what's in store.
The Reds moved early in the window, completing moves for Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. However, the departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson forced boss Jurgen Klopp into further action.
Wataru Endo joined from Stuttgart in August, making his debut in the home victory over Bournemouth. And now Gravenberch is set to arrive from Bayern Munich after interest from earlier this summer was revived.
Gravenberch has now flown to Merseyside ahead of a deadline day switch. Reports suggest the fee will be in the region of £35m, a significant profit on the £20m his current club Bayern Munich paid Ajax for his signature in 2022.
The 21-year-old will arrive with plenty of experience, having already made 11 senior appearances for the Netherlands national team. He also has more than 100 senior club appearances under his belt, many of those under current Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag in Amsterdam.
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Back in the spring of 2022, Ten Hag opened up on Gravenberch's qualities. The midfielder was linked with both United and Liverpool before completing his Bundesliga switch, and now looks set for the Premier League at last.
What can Ryan Gravenberch give Liverpool? Have your say in the comments section
Ryan Gravenberch is on the verge of a Liverpool switch (Getty Images)"Ryan is a very young player, but he has already gained a lot of experience," Ten Hag said, per the Manchester Evening News. "Despite his young age, he has already experienced a lot and, above all, won titles.
"He's very important for our team because he's a box-to-box player. He accelerates out of the positional play, does good dribbling, has enormous passing accuracy and takes part in the build-up of the game.
"Due to his athleticism and physique, he is also strong in the transition game and can also win the balls. He's come a long way, but can still learn a lot."
Gravenberch has already featured for Bayern this season, coming off the bench in their 3-1 Bundesliga victory over Augsburg. Liverpool will hope to complete the deal in time to have him available for Sunday's Premier League game against Aston Villa at Anfield.
While Gravenberch is on the way in, Liverpool have also lost a first-teamer on deadline day. Nat Phillips has joined Celtic on loan until January, with the deal set to be reassessed mid-season.
“We’ve had a few conversations (with Brendan Rodgers) since I’ve been here and they’ve gone really well," he said after moving north of the border. "They’ve just reassured the decision around this whole thing, and I’m really excited to get working with him.”
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