The woes Ryan Gravenberch faced at Bayern Munich were clear, but the Liverpool midfielder has summed up how he felt and how “the confidence came back.”
In three months at Liverpool, Gravenberch has already made 50 percent more starts than he did in an entire season at Bayern, and is close to overtaking on minutes.
The Dutchman started just six games with the Bundesliga side, and nine since leaving, while he has clocked 778 minutes on Merseyside compared to 946 in Bavaria.
He has twice as many goals (two) and assists (two) for his new club, too, with the smile coming back for a player with prodigious talent.
“When I spoke to Klopp he just gave me a warm feeling”
“I have a good connection with him”
Ryan Gravenberch shares insights on his time with Liverpool so far ? pic.twitter.com/DMyNteVIyK
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 7, 2023
“When I spoke to him it just gave me a warm feeling, like a family, you know?” Gravenberch told TNT Sports of his first talks with Jurgen Klopp.
“That’s what I missed with…that’s what I missed. I’m very happy that he gave me that feeling.”
Though the 21-year-old stopped short of mentioning his former club, it was clear what he was referring to with the feeling he “missed.”
Gravenberch added: “[Klopp] just gave me confidence, gave me minutes on the pitch again.
“He just told me ‘enjoy the game again’, and that’s what I did. With the minutes, the confidence came back.”
Having joined the club on deadline day and therefore missing pre-season, Gravenberch is still playing catchup when it comes to his fitness and sharpness.
His longest run of consecutive starts is three, those being over nine days against Everton, Toulouse and Nottingham Forest in October, though that speaks more to the competition in midfield.
During his interview with TNT Sports, though, Gravenberch admitted that the “intensity” of the Premier League is something he is still getting to grips with compared to Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
“I would not say a lack of experience, it’s more the intensity that they play with,” he said.
“They keep it [up] for longer, more minutes. More stamina, that’s the thing they have more than me.
“I have to work on that, because I didn’t play a lot last season. I think if you compare that, now coming to the Premier League, it’s a lot different to where I came from.”
He continued: “Everywhere you go it’s a little bit different.
“Here the intensity of the midfield is a lot different than at Ajax. At Bayern there was also a lot of intensity but here it’s a little bit more, also because of the Premier League.”
