Ryan Gravenberch opens up on the Arne Slot phone call that changed his Liverpool career and his refusal to study other No 6s – even Rodri – as he blossoms into leading Premier League star, writes LEWIS STEELE

Ryan Gravenberch has taken a pew on the stairs which are adorned with artwork of Reds icons past and present. A band of reporters are perched a couple of steps below the Dutchman, hanging on his every word.

The seating layout feels metaphoric. Gravenberch has been head and shoulders above most midfielders in Europe this season. 

It is extremely premature but if the 22-year-old was to make this purple patch a regular occurrence, his face could join those greats on that wall to his right.

No one in the Liverpool fanbase – or wider football stratosphere – can hold their hands up and swear they saw Gravenberch’s early-season form coming, especially after a failed pursuit for defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi left many thinking the lack of a No 6 would be costly.

But new head coach Arne Slot is one that can testify he saw potential in Gravenberch. In the days after the Netherlands crashed out of the European Championship, Slot picked up the phone and told his compatriot that he can be moulded into a deeper-lying midfield general.

No one in the Liverpool fanbase – or wider football stratosphere – can hold their hands up and swear they saw Gravenberch’s early-season form coming

A band of reporters are perched a couple of steps below the Dutchman, hanging on his every word

‘After the Euros he called me and said he wanted to give me a chance – then he said, “I want you to focus on the No 8 but I also want to see you in the No 6”,’ Gravenberch recalls. ‘My reaction was really good… it doesn’t really matter where you play as long as you play.’

Simply playing mattered more to Gravenberch than most at the club. In his first season on these shores, he started just 31 per cent of Premier League matches, a trend continuing from his one full campaign at Bayern Munich where he was in the starting XI in just eight per cent of games.

After leaving boyhood club Ajax weeks after his 20th birthday, the Amsterdam-born midfielder had struggled to convince new England boss Thomas Tuchel – then at Bayern – and Jurgen Klopp that he was good enough to be a regular.

But he was not concerned about this and trusted in his potential. He adds: ‘When I came here, in my mind… the coach (Klopp) didn’t say to me, “OK, you will get a starting XI position” – so it was already in my head that I would get my chances, that my time would come.’

His time has now come. Gravenberch has played 80 or more minutes in 13 of 14 games for club and country this season – the odd one out when he was rested for a Carabao Cup tie – and he is topping the charts for many metrics this season.

Without going too in depth with nerdy data, Gravenberch has a better ‘on-ball value’ (OBV) than any other Premier League midfielder, and is also making more ball progressions, interceptions and recoveries than his contemporaries.

The numbers support the theory that he has been head and shoulders above the rest so far this season. 

But Gravenberch’s journey did not start with that Slot phone-call telling him he could be a No 6. He has been grafting away since he was knee high to get to this level.

A failed pursuit for defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi left many thinking the lack of a No 6 would be costly

But new head coach Arne Slot is one that can testify he saw potential in Gravenberch

After leaving boyhood club Ajax, the Amsterdam-born midfielder had struggled to convince new England boss Thomas Tuchel – then at Bayern – that he was good enough to be a regular

Gravenberch became the youngest-ever player to play for the Amsterdam club – some feat given the long list of legends that have been produced at the Johan Cruyff Arena. He beat his idol Clarence Seedorf’s previous record by making his debut at 16.

‘If I’m honest I’m very proud of that because if you saw the career of Seedorf and what he achieved, the prizes he won and what kind of player he was,’ adds Gravenberch. ‘To surpass his record was a really proud moment for me and my family.

‘He is an idol of mine. Of course when I grew up you had Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, they still play. But my other idol was Zinedine Zidane. I never saw him live, but I saw clips of him and it was really great.

‘When you’re a kid on the streets you want to be like him and what he achieved, you want to achieve (those things) as well. For me, when I grow up I definitely want to win the prizes and make it to the big teams.’

Another one of Gravenberch’s idols was his big brother, 30-year-old Danzell, who also came through at Ajax and is now on his 14th club with Den Bosch in a journeyman career that also saw him briefly in England with Reading.

‘Danzell played at Ajax at the time and (I remember) going with him to watch him play. Also when we were on the streets, I came with him but he’s like eight years older than me! When I was younger I just watched him play.

‘He’s a big boy so it was difficult for me. He toughened me up and I became stronger – he did everything for me. He has (played for) a lot of teams – I think almost over ten. He was more physical but not holding back on me in the streets!’

To let readers into a secret, this interview was conducted six weeks ago at a sponsorship event. Mail Sport thought back then that Gravenberch’s confidence might not stand the test of time – what if his form fell off or he suffered an injury?

But to his credit, it has only gone the other way – every passing week his credit in the bank increases. He has done it himself and refuses to study other No 6s like Rodri, for example – but has received hours of help from fellow Dutchman Johnny Heitinga.

He beat his idol Clarence Seedorf’s previous record by making his debut at 16

Gravenberch has received hours of help from fellow Dutchman Johnny Heitinga (centre)

He has done it himself and refuses to study other No 6s like Rodri, for example

Gravenberch adds on the former Everton defender, who coached him at Ajax: ‘He showed me a few clips and John – I had him in Ajax so he knows me really well – I had chats with him about good positioning, where the ball can come and also about attacking wise where I have to stand.

‘(So far this season) feels good but to be honest I have to adapt more because I’m not like a natural defending No 6. 

‘I was like a more attacking midfielder so for myself I have to adapt more. I think the first games have been really good but I have to keep improving.’

Ryan Gravenberch was speaking ahead of Liverpool’s Premier League fixture with Chelsea, a match that will see the hosts feature Standard Chartered’s ‘Futuremakers’ logo on the front of their shirts. For more information and the chance to bid on his matchworn shirt, visit here: https://www.charitystars.com/tag/futuremakers-by-standard-chartered-x-liverpool-fc-2024/