Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag wants to be reunited with his former Ajax star Ryan Gravenberch this summer with the midfielder outlining his desire to leave Bayern Munich.
Liverpool – who have been strongly linked with a move for the player – began their January transfer window by completing the signing of Cody Gakpo from PSV Eindhoven. The Dutch international had been in the process of negotiating a deal with United, who were not decisive on a deal for the forward.
The latest developments appear to be somewhat of a role reversal, with United now looking to capitalise on Liverpool’s inability to swiftly tie up a move by gazumping their interest with a move of their own.
Gravenberch, 20, made under 100 first-team appearances for the Dutch giants under Ten Hag, who handed him his senior debut, before the midfielder made an €18.5million switch to Bayern last summer. However, he has only featured as a bit-part player this campaign.
The Dutch international had been approached by Ten Hag last summer to join him at Old Trafford but the player had already given his commitment to joining Bayern.
After pulling out of the race for Borussia Dortmund talisman Jude Bellingham, Liverpool are expected to sign more than a midfielder in the summer after a season of struggle in the Premier League. And Gravenberch, who would command a far lower price tag than Bellingham, is believed to fit the bill.
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It has even been claimed that talks have gone as far as the Merseyside Reds agreeing to match the midfielder's current salary, which would mean putting together a contract worth around £200,000 a week. However, there could now be complications.
Liverpool are not the only club interested in signing the Dutchman. Arsenal are monitoring the situation while United are also in the running, as outlined by Foot Mercato. Indeed, that report goes so far as to suggest that Ten Hag and Gravenberch are keen on working together once more – something that could be a key factor in his future.
Gravenberch has now spoken to VL in his native Netherlands, outlining his desire for more game time: "I will wait. Training and playing at the top level for a year is beautiful and instructive, although it has mainly been training. That has to change next season, I really want to play week in, week out again.
"I have not spoken to the club's (Bayern) management yet, so we just wait and see what happens. But it's clear that this role does not match my expectations.
"In the beginning, of course, I had to get used to it here. It was a new environment for me. Everything goes so much faster, sometimes training sessions just felt like competitions."
