Bayern Munich flop to best in the Premier League! Where is Ryan Gravenberch now? Ex-Liverpool stars explains Dutch midfielder’s standing in 2026

Gravenberch is a product of the fabled academy system at Ajax, meaning that he got the best possible schooling before making a record-breaking senior debut at the age of 16 years and 130 days - becoming the youngest player to feature for Amsterdam-based giants in the Eredivisie.

Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern came calling in 2022, but just one full season - that delivered 33 appearances - was spent at the Allianz Arena before heading over to England. Regular starts had been hard to come by in Germany.

He was still considered to be the hottest of prospects when arriving at Liverpool, with somebody needing to unlock full potential in his game. Jurgen Klopp did not quite manage that, but Arne Slot did when delivering another top-flight title triumph. Gravenberch missed just one Premier League game that season.

The energetic Dutchman was an almost ever-present again last term, but collective standards slipped in 2025-26 - leading to a trophyless campaign and fifth-placed finish. The odd question has been asked of whether Liverpool are using Gravenberch correctly - with somebody required to sit directly in front of Virgil van Dijk, providing much-needed protection for a slightly leaky back four.

Quizzed on where Gravenberch is at present - following the lows of Munich and highs of title glory - Hamann, who was speaking in association with Betinia NJ, told GOAL: “I think in between, probably a bit closer to where he was in the title-winning season.

“He came to Munich and for some reason he didn't get game time and he missed out on the World Cup on the back of it. He came to Liverpool and I think he was an absolute sensation a couple of seasons back.

“Last year was a tough season because you had the [Mohamed] Salah saga, where I think there were frictions within the team. Then you bring players in for an awful lot of money. The centre-forward, [Alexander] Isak, is not fit. [Hugo] Ekitike does well. [Florian] Wirtz doesn't do it.

“Now, if you play in that holding position or that central midfield position, your job is to get the boys on the ball, on the wing and give the ball to them quickly, so they can turn. Because if you take another touch, you might give it to them, somebody's closing them down, they can't turn. But when you give them a good ball, it always depends what they do with it.

“So Gravenberch can play the best ball to Wirtz or to Salah, if they lose the ball, nobody will talk about the pass. I think the problem last season was that if you look at the forward players, [Cody] Gakpo was very disappointing. Salah found it really hard from open play to score. Wirtz, over the course of the season, probably had one or two decent games.

“So if you give them balls, if you do something good, they don't do anything really, then people will say, ‘well, what did Gravenberch actually do?’ Well, if they got the ball and set up a goal and scored the goal, they said, ‘well, it started with him’.

“And I think that's always a tricky part to assess a player in that position, because you're very reliant on the players ahead of you. And I don't want to defend him altogether, because I think there were times where he didn't play too well and [Alexis] Mac Allister didn’t either.

“I still think he's a very good player, a powerful player with a very good eye. He's got a defensive mind as well, to spot danger. I do like him and I think if Liverpool wants to get back to where they were, which I think will be very tough this season, they certainly need him.”

Gravenberch - who figured for his country at the World Cup finals in North America - started Liverpool’s opening game of 2026-27 away at Newcastle, but was handed 19 minutes off the bench in the Reds’ 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest last time out. Andoni Iraola is still getting to know those at his disposal.

The Spanish tactician will name another starting XI on Friday when the Reds take in a trip to newly-promoted Ipswich. Dutch steel should form part of his thinking at Portman Road, with a settled system required in order for an expensively-assembled squad to perform at the peak of its powers.