Gravenberch makes Liverpool priority perfectly clear with controversial decision
New Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch has pulled himself out of international duty to focus on his new life with the Reds.
The 21-year-old has asked to be withdrawn from Dutch under-21 duty for the forthcoming fixtures against Moldova and North Macedonia, with coach Michael Reiziger calling up SC Cambuur midfielder Fedde de Jong to replace him.
A Dutch FA statement read: "Ryan Gravenberch will not travel to Zeist this international match to join the Dutch Juniors. The Liverpool FC midfielder has indicated to KNVB coach Michael Reiziger that he wants to focus on his new club during the international match in September and will therefore not make himself available."
Gravenberch has 11 caps for the Dutch under-21 side and 11 for the senior team. After struggling for game time at Bayern Munich he has dropped out of the senior setup, playing just once for them since 2021.
The former Ajax star was disappointed to miss out on the Dutch squad for the Qatar World Cup, and instead played at this summer's European Under-21 Championships, where the Oranje drew with Belgium, Portugal and Georgia to exit in the group stages, with Gravenberch playing 90 minutes in all three games.
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Gravenberch completed his move to Liverpool on transfer deadline day (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Liverpool's newest addition will spend the international break acclimatising to his new home on Merseyside, and will hope to be involved in the squad that takes on Wolves at Molineux on September 16.
Upon signing for the club on Friday, he said: "I'm very happy. Very happy that the deal is done and I'm finally here.
"For me, I just had to be relaxed. I spoke a lot with my agent and he said to me, 'Everything is going to be alright.' For me, I had to just be relaxed and just wait for this moment.
Gravenberch played for the Dutch under-21s in the summer's European Championships (REX/Shutterstock)"If you see it (the club) from the outside, it's one of the biggest clubs in the world. Also the fans, the stadium, I think everything from the outside is top. So that's why (I wanted to join)."
Jurgen Klopp had expected Gravenberch to go on international duty after signing him, saying: "Really happy to bring him in because he’s an exceptional talent. Everybody knows that. He is 21, played over 100 games for Ajax already. Had a, I wouldn’t even say difficult season at Bayern because in that age group it’s completely normal; you go into a world-class team and he had his minutes and stuff like this.
"We will see how long he needs now because I don’t know, we need to have a look at that. He had a full pre-season, that’s good. The medical was as clear as it can be pretty much, looks really fit. That’s all positive.
"Unfortunately we have now an international break and cannot work directly together, he is I think with the U21s for Holland. But when he is back we start it. Very excited about it. He is a smart boy. When I talked to him I realised that pretty quickly. And he loves to be here, it’s a good thing as well."
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