Massive Ryan Gravenberch worry coming out, Liverpool have a problem

Liverpool have a problem here. There’s a massive worry coming out with Ryan Gravenberch and it threatens to disrupt the Reds’ plans.

Ryan Gravenberch was on top of the world in 2024/25. The midfielder shone brightly in Liverpool’s title-winning campaign and Arne Slot had unlocked his potential in a way no one else managed.

That earned him a bumper new contract this year, tying his foreseeable future to Anfield and getting a massive pay rise in the process. Liverpool were locking Gravenberch in as the future of their midfield.

Only, performances haven’t kept up with that. The Dutchman’s form last season was pretty poor and he fell down a couple of levels on his efforts 12 months prior.

There’s a growing problem at the heart of it. One that Liverpool will struggle to solve.

Ryan Gravenberch’s (and Liverpool’s) problem

Gravenberch is currently away with the Dutch national team where he’s been a consistent starter for a while now. The problem is that his performances really haven’t justified that as late.

The watching Ruud Gullit sees a problem: that Gravenberch can’t play with Tijani Reijnders in the middle.

“Gravenberch isn’t comfortable, and neither is Reijnders,” he said on Rondo (relayed by Voetbal Primeur).

“It just doesn’t click. In principle, [Gravenberch] is the best and he has shown that. But he isn’t playing at the required level. And neither is Reijnders. It looks like they can’t play football together.”

This is a growing problem. We’ve written before that Gravenberch seems unable to play with Florian Wirtz, too, while few could say that a partnership with Dominik Szoboszlai is one that works.

Gravenberch, then, is a midfielder who needs a very specific system. Or at least, that’s how it seems. Put him alongside a similar midfielder and he can’t express himself – the pair of them end up nullifying one another.

But partner him with an out-and-out attacking player? Gravenberch lacks the defensive understanding to simply sit and hold. Pair him alongside a defensive midfielder and we’re not convinced he’s got the passing ability to open teams up on his own.

This is genuinely an enormous problem for Liverpool. They’ve committed a lot of money on Gravenberch but he’s struggling to show what he is and the answer may genuinely be that he must play in a midfield three.

That would require a change of plans with both Liverpool and the Netherlands. Plans they may not want to change for him.