Erik ten Hag and Ryan Gravenberch are no strangers to each other and the pair almost reunited at Manchester United last summer.
Ten Hag wanted to make Gravenberch - who he managed at Ajax - one of his first signings at Old Trafford but the Dutch international opted for a £16.3million move to Bayern Munich instead. United went on to sign Casemiro and Christian Eriksen to bolster their midfield after the departures of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic.
“Manchester United is a very big and beautiful club,” Gravenberch said at the time, in an interview with De Telegraaf. “But I already had such a good feeling at Bayern Munich and I had given my word.”
Less than 12 months into his five-year deal at Bayern, Gravenberch is being lined up for a Premier League switch again. This time, Liverpool are leading the race to sign the 20-year-old, who has made 28 appearances for the German champions this season but started only once in the Bundesliga.
Jurgen Klopp is desperate to upgrade his midfield options and could target as many as three new signings in the position. It has been an obvious weak points for the Reds this season and with further departures coming in the summer, a rebuild is needed.
Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner are set to be out of contract at Anfield while Arthur Melo will return to Juventus after a hugely disappointing loan spell. Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson will turn 33 when next season comes around and Thiago Alcantara is 32.
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England teenager Jude Bellingham has long been considered the answer to Liverpool’s problems in midfield but Anfield chiefs have pulled out of the race to sign the Borussia Dortmund star. Bellingham is considered too expensive - Dortmund have an asking price of around £130m - and there is also a chance he could opt to stay put.
Liverpool have been busy drawing up a list of alternative options and Gravenberch sits near the top. The Merseyside club have already held conversations with his father, Ryan senior, and his agent Jose Fortes Rodriguez.
Gravenberch earns around £100,000-a-week at Bayern after tax and Liverpool have no issue in matching those terms with a £200,000-a-week contract after a meeting with Gravenberch’s advisers in the Dutch capital Amsterdam. Discussions between the two clubs have also taken place.
Gravenberch was a regular for Ten Hag at Ajax after breaking into the first-team in 2018, becoming the club’s youngest ever player to play in the Eredivisie at 16 years and 130 days. He beat the record previously set by Clarence Seedorf.
Ten Hag made his feelings on Gravenberch clear in 2022, when he told German outlet Sport 1: “Ryan is a very young player, but he has already gained a lot of experience. He has already played over 100 games in the Eredivisie, has played in the Champions League and has been called up for the national team. 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 positional play, does good dribbling, has tremendous passing ability and participates in the build-up play.
“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.”
