Why Liverpool fans are getting something COMPLETELY wrong about Ryan Gravenberch

There is no arguing that Ryan Gravenberch has had a wonderful start to the season.

After looking like a bit of a wayfaring stranger last season, unsettled and with unremarkable on-pitch performance, his development has been nothing short of amazing.

The Dutchman is now essential to how Liverpool are playing. He is resisting the press with alarming regularity, making a body faint and spin with the ball a signature of his already.

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It allows Liverpool to burst into space against a defensive block that are constantly on the back foot.

And the praise hasn’t just been limited to the pitch. Last week, former player Jan Mulder insinuated that Dutch legends Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids didn’t have the “grandeur” of Gravenberch when they came through.

Has Gravenberch earned this praise?

And in an interview with De Telegraaf, former Netherlands youth manager – and current Schalke manager – Kees van Wonderen has suggested that this rise from Gravenberch was inevitable.

“His performances now at Liverpool and [for the Netherlands] are not surprising.” the coach said.

Talking of coaching him when Netherlands under-17’s won the Euros in 2018, van Wonderen said, “Ryan was then, and you still saw it in recent seasons, fickle, a bit dreamy and absent at times. His father and and agent… recognised this… and he has taken steps.”

“Ryan shouldn’t be satisfied with what he’s showing now. It should be fuel to bring even more.” van Wonderen warned, however. “What Ronaldo has, and Ruud van Nistelrooy used to have, or Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Playing well for three or four matches isn’t enough, winning two titles isn’t enough: he has to want more and demand more of himself.”

These comments by van Wonderen do add a little bit of necessary water to the fire of praise on Gravenberch right now. He is playing at an all-League level currently, but we have only seen this level from him for nine games.

The aforementioned comparisons to Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids seem a touch premature. We are talking about two of the best midfielders to ever grace a football pitch there. 

Both were, for periods at least, argued to be the single best midfielders in the world. They also both performed at a world-class level for multiple years.

If Gravenberch continues to perform at this level or, say it quietly, get even better, then the comparisons will hold.

But for now, maybe we should all chill out and enjoy watching him play. Fans and pundits comparing him to all-time greats puts an unnecessary weight on his shoulders. 

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