Ryan Gravenberch is going nowhere - and rightly so

Liverpool's young midfielder continues to be linked with a move to Turkey, but will be given the chance to build on a promising debut season.

Those who put great stock in transfer rumours could be forgiven for thinking that Ryan Gravenberch is heading for the Liverpool exit door this summer.

Ever since the window opened, the Dutchman has been the subject of persistent claims that he is on the cusp of a move to Turkey with Galatasaray.

Meanwhile, the news surrounding Wataru Endo this week has perhaps served to show that the Reds might not be entirely averse to moving last summer’s signings on after just one year.

Yet sources close to Gravenberch have described the speculation over his future as “nonsense”, with both player and club focused on making his second campaign at Anfield a success.

And, though the midfielder served to split opinion at times during his debut season, that is surely the right call.

It is possibly a result of Gravenberch’s imposing frame that people don’t tend to appreciate that he is still a young player ironing out the kinks in his game.

The midfielder was just 21 when he arrived at Anfield to take on the challenge of playing in a new league and a new style of football, but largely succeeded, even if he didn’t quite take the Premier League by storm.

For starters, he managed over 1,800 minutes across all competitions, achieving his stated aim of featuring more frequently than at Bayern Munich by almost doubling his involvement.

He also played well for the most part, despite the tendency in some quarters to focus on any deficiencies.

Admittedly, Gravenberch’s pressing wasn’t always perfect, but he was a regular fixture in a side that lost four league games all season, suggesting those downsides can never have been too harmful to the cause.

What’s more, his use of the ball often showed exactly why Liverpool had pushed so hard to sign him, particularly the ability to beat a man from a standing start that makes him unique among the club’s collection of midfielders.

This is backed up by the numbers, with a brief glance at Gravenberch’s profile on the brilliant statistical hub FBRef showing a player who rates highly in terms of successful take-ons, non-penalty xG generated, and shot-creating actions.

This data also conveys that he possesses all the ingredients to thrive playing Arne Slot’s preferred style of football, which appears to be slightly less physical and chaotic than that of Jurgen Klopp.

Of course, Gravenberch comes into his second season facing the same tough competition for starts, with the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott arguably both better placed to begin the season in attacking midfield.

And that pecking order is unlikely to change unless Slot sees some improvements in terms of the defensive aspects of the game from his compatriot.

But the raw ingredients are there for the 22-year-old to build on what was an underrated start to life at Liverpool, and show why any talk of a sale was always a non-starter.