Ryan Gravenberch’s journey to Premier League star took a decidedly sour detour for one sullen season in the Bundesliga in 2022/23.
Bayern Munich had just signed him as a teenage wonderkid from AFC Ajax. But after a year of scarcely playing him, Gravenberch wanted out, and Liverpool was more than happy to oblige.
“It never felt like [Bayern] had a plan for him at all,” English football pundit Andy Brassel said in extended, exclusive comments to talkSport, noting that the Bavarians were ‘chaotic at the time.’
This was the summer of 2022, a failed transfer class that also included Sadio Mané, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, and Mathys Tel. At the time Bayern was actually the picture of stability, with a front office apparently fulling backing second-year head coach Julian Nagelsmann, who was heavily involved in the recruitment process alongside sporting executives Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidžić and Marco Neppe.
Brassel, however, is correct in pointing out that Bayern had big names established at the position, starting with Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka. While Brassel identifies Kimmich’s “wing-backish leanings” as something that leads Bayern to turning to João Palhinha, the Portuguese defensive mid or even his profile seemed far from a hot topic at the time — Nagelsmann’s former RB Leipzig charges, Marcel Sabitzer, was the latest addition and “pressing machine” Konrad Laimer was soon to be next in line.
However, rather than as a No. 6 or even in central midfield at all, Gravenberch indeed was getting his sparse opportunities for Bayern in the even more crowded attacking midfield — that old haunt of Thomas Müller and subsequently Jamal Musiala. In Brassel’s words, the young arrival from Ajax was a mere ‘afterthought.’
That charge seems unfair to levy at Bayern. The German record champions were widely praised at the time for scooping up a talented and versatile youngster in midfield with a view to developing him for the future. Where that future lay, as with many young and less-established players, was naturally an open box, and maybe the player himself had something to do with it.
Nagelsmann was reported to have harped on the youngster’s defensive side of the game. His successor, Thomas Tuchel, described him as “a box-to-box midfielder for me, an attacking player” without a fit in Bayern’s 4-2-3-1, who wanted to be a No. 8 in Liverpool’s 4-3-3. So if Gravenberch’s role disappeared, it didn’t come before his recruitment.
And to his credit, Gravenberch did develop his defensive qualities — it’s just not Bayern who is reaping the rewards on the pitch. He blossomed as a No. 6 in Arne Slot’s Premier League-winning side last season — ironically, in a 4-2-3-1.
“The way he’s been able to adapt at Liverpool firstly says that Bayern have done some sort of decent job with him, even if it wasn’t enough to get them into their first team,” Brassel concluded. “It’s developed him in a way. He’s a much better player than he was at Ajax by the time he arrived at Liverpool, simply through playing a few games and training with Bayern the whole time.”
Gravenberch’s role is still evolving — this year, he’s playing “with more freedom” and not being asked to sit as deep in the Liverpool midfield.
He’s ready for it, too. Sometimes, it seems, you have to start sinking first to learn how to swim.
