Ryan Gravenberch might have stepped up as one of many in-form midfielders in soccer within the wake of Liverpool’s failure to signal a No. 6, however that switch precedence stays.
Liverpool’s failed pursuit of Martin Zubimendi and the following rise of Gravenberch on the base of Arne Slot‘s midfield has been one of many defining tales of the season to this point.
The pinnacle coach all the time had a plan for his fellow Dutchman, however a willingness to spend £51 million on Zubimendi confirmed his hand when it got here to his view of the squad.
Clearly, Slot – and the membership’s recruitment workers – felt they had been gentle within the midfield division and in figuring out the Actual Sociedad metronome there was a perception they’d discovered the right resolution.
Given the managed, exact approach during which Liverpool’s midfield now operates underneath new administration, it’s straightforward to see how Zubimendi would have slot in.
However it’s now troublesome to think about Slot’s engine room with out the progressive, press-resistant presence of Gravenberch at its coronary heart.
Gravenberch beginning to tire
Up to now this season solely Virgil van Dijk (1,710) and Mohamed Salah (1,703) have performed extra minutes for Liverpool than Gravenberch (1,687), with it a substantial distance between him and the next-highest, Alexis Mac Allister (1,496).
His consistency in availability is a key asset, with no participant making extra begins in all competitions (19) and solely him, Van Dijk and Salah beginning all 14 league video games to this point.
Nevertheless, a leggy exhibiting within the 3-3 draw with Newcastle on Wednesday evening confirmed why this reliance on Gravenberch might show a problem for Slot because the marketing campaign wears on.
Up till his substitution after 67 minutes at St James’ Park, the 22-year-old had performed each minute of each sport in each the Premier League and the Champions League.
“I took him off as a result of in each sport he performed so properly and this sport within the first half he wasn’t his greatest, just like the workforce,” Slot later defined of his choice to carry off his beforehand untouchable No. 38.
“This was a sport once I felt somebody can do the identical to relaxation him a bit.”
The conclusion was that Gravenberch was unable to supply what he usually does in a good midfield battle and subsequently Curtis Jones was chosen to take over because the deepest-lying midfielder whereas Dominik Szoboszlai got here on.
It proved the appropriate selection, with Jones providing thrust as nominal No. 6 and Szoboszlai taking part in a key function in Liverpool’s fightback to go 3-2 up.
However in choosing one other mixture of his virtually unique unit of Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai and Mac Allister, Slot confirmed that there stays a scarcity in his midfield choices.
No plans for Endo
Slot himself described these gamers as his “essential 4 midfielders” when talking forward of the postponed Merseyside derby, although he did additionally be aware that Harvey Elliott “is on his approach again” with the suggestion being that he might develop into a daily too.
It doesn’t appear to have been an oversight that the top coach failed to say both Wataru Endo or Tyler Morton, nonetheless.
Although they’re Liverpool’s solely different pure senior No. 6s, they’ve clocked solely 239 minutes on the pitch this season mixed – subtract any Carabao Cup appearances and that tally drops to simply 21 minutes.
The omission of Morton, who was out there for switch in the summertime, is much less of a shock.
Nevertheless, there’s a clear sense that Endo just isn’t considered as a viable possibility inside Slot’s system, bar late cameos to carry onto tight leads – which, sarcastically, ought to actually have been the case towards Newcastle.
Earlier within the week, the Japan captain instructed his Crimson Machine podcast that he had held talks with the top coach over his function, accepting his standing as a hardworking squad participant for now.
“I feel that’s what I have to do in the meanwhile and I’m so grateful that he is aware of that I all the time attempt to work onerous on the pitch,” Endo defined.
“It’s good that he got here to me to speak about that. To play for Liverpool just isn’t straightforward, so the supervisor instructed me that we wanted everybody.”
Soccer is a squad sport and never each participant generally is a starter, however with an unforgiving fixture checklist it’s also an more and more demanding one for these deemed first selection.
Midfield nonetheless the precedence
Gravenberch will undoubtedly be a key participant for Liverpool for a few years to come back, all being properly, however the present scenario has solely highlighted that he too will want his minutes managed rigorously over the course of a marketing campaign.
So whereas Slot at present relies on his “essential 4 midfielders” – maybe added to by the return of Elliott as a No. 10 possibility – that group of normal starters will want increasing additional.
Whether or not that comes within the January switch window or not is unclear, with Slot explaining earlier this month: “I’m so, so pleased with the squad we have now [but] that’s to not say that if there shall be an opportunity available in the market [we won’t sign anyone].”
As proven with Liverpool’s ‘Zubimendi or bust’ strategy in the summertime, any strikes will rely on the supply of the appropriate gamers.
There is no such thing as a want to easily carry one other physique into the midfield ranks – Endo and Morton are clearly thought-about that already – however there stays a urgent want so as to add one other top-level possibility.
Maybe that might nonetheless be Zubimendi, with a rising perception that he’ll now depart Sociedad within the close to future, and the prospect of Slot rotating him and Gravenberch relying on the tactical battle forward is a really interesting one.
However as a lot as Liverpool might have to discover a new left-back or perhaps a long-term successor to Mohamed Salah on the appropriate flank, it’s evident that one other controlling midfielder continues to be their precedence.
