September 2nd 2023.
On deadline day, Liverpool made their move to sign Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich for a reported £34.3 million. Jurgen Klopp was quick to hail the 21-year-old midfielder as an “exceptional talent”.
Gravenberch had been pushing for a move away from Bayern after struggling to secure playing time in his first season following his €18.5 million transfer from Ajax. He also had interest from Manchester United, but Liverpool moved quickly to reach an agreement with Bayern.
Klopp was clearly delighted with his new signing, saying “Everybody knows that [he’s an exceptional talent]. 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.”
The midfielder will wear the No.38 shirt for Liverpool, and Klopp says he’s looking forward to working with him, but admits he will have to wait until the international break is over. Klopp also spoke about his first impressions of Gravenberch, saying, “He came into my office with his girlfriend, very nice as well. A good couple. Very open.”
Klopp then went on to discuss his long-standing interest in the midfielder, citing his time at Ajax: “Of course. Yeah, of course. We played him, obviously, I think the Ajax game was behind closed doors if I am right, that’s why the memories are not that great for the game. But, Ajax, okay in the moment they have to rebuild their team as well, but the team they had before with him, with [Frenkie] De Jong, with all these boys, that was a really, really good team and playing the way they play is great.”
Klopp is confident that Gravenberch will be an important addition to the team both in the short and long term, saying “It fits into our squad. I said before, we have a big challenge to reinvent pretty much one of the most successful midfields this club ever had, and I really like it. When I look now at the team, it’s a good football team, honestly. You can buy experienced players but experience you have to make together as a team and we will do that. Everything is good. We signed a really good player and now let’s help him to get the best out of him.”
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