Ryan Gravenberch flopped at Bayern Munich - but Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp can transform Erik ten Hag's protege

On June 7, 2018, Gravenberch signed his first professional contract on the very same day he was presented with the Abdelhak Nouri Trophy - an annual award given to the top talent in the Ajax academy that has been previously won by the likes of Wesley Sneijder, Christian Eriksen and Matthijs de Ligt.

Just four months later, Ten Hag handed Gravenberch a first-team debut, making the 16-year-old the youngest player ever to appear for Ajax in the Eredivisie. He even received a message of congratulations from the previous record-holder, Clarence Seedorf. "I wish you a successful career," the Dutch legend wrote on Instagram, "just like I had."

The early signs were certainly encouraging. Before the end of the 2020-21 season, Gravenberch had nailed down a regular starting spot in Ten Hag’s team, and already been capped by the Netherlands at senior level. He was still only 18 when he took to the field for a World Cup qualifier against Turkey.

By that stage, Gravenberch was being linked with all of Europe’s elite clubs. It was not a question of if he would leave Ajax - but when. Tevreden knew that too and expected his former pupil to prove “a big success”. Unfortunately, Gravenberch’s move to Bayern Munich has proven anything but.

He moved to Bavaria in June 2022 for €18 million (£15m/$19m), and it looked like a bargain buy - but Gravenberch failed to convince two different head coaches of his worth at the Allianz Arena.

Across a debut season that saw Julian Nagelsmann replaced by Thomas Tuchel at the tail end of March, Gravenberch managed just 938 minutes of first-team action and made just six starts. On two separate occasions, he publicly complained to the press about a lack of game time - much to Bayern’s displeasure.

Such frustration was arguably inevitable, though. Before joining Bayern, Gravenberch had known nothing other than progress and success, almost effortlessly hurdling every obstacle that had been placed on his seemingly pre-destined path to superstardom.

“Ryan was very young making his debut for Ajax U19s and later Ajax U21s,” Maarten Stekelenburg told GOAL. “He had to compete against physically strong players, so when I saw he could cope with those physical demands of the game, I had no doubt he could step up and show his technical and tactical talent.

“For me, talent is when you can adapt to the next level. Ryan managed to play himself into the team after every step up in age group. When you cannot keep up with the speed of the game, you are not in the team. But Ryan showed in training and games he could contribute to the team.”

Ten Hag, meanwhile, was just as enamoured with Gravenberch’s ability to take everything in his stride and remain unaffected by any minor setbacks. “He knows what he can do and he loves football,” the former Ajax boss said in 2021. “But he remains himself. And with his beautiful smile, he can laugh everything away. If he works hard and makes the right choices, Ryan has the potential to become a world star.”

Nagelsmann wholeheartedly agreed. During the early part of the 2022-23 season, he reserved as much praise for Gravenberch’s temperament as his talent. But he acknowledged that the Dutchman was finding it difficult to deal with the transition from a starring role at Ajax to cameo appearances in Munich.

“It's not quite so easy for a young player to come in at 20 and only come on for 20 minutes. It's just a whole different approach," Nagelsmann told Sky Sports Germany. “He is, of course, sad that he doesn't play much, but not frustrated or angry at all. He's a great guy, who will continue his development.

"I've told him that he is going to be one of the best midfielders in the world one day, and I'm committed to that. He just has to adjust a few things, and he will do that."

Gravenberch didn’t, though. On the contrary, his game regressed and his relationship with Nagelsmann deteriorated.

The German acknowledged that, in possession, Gravenberch was “better than many other players in Europe”. The problem, as far as Nagelsmann was concerned, was his work off the ball - or lack thereof.

In last October’s Champions League clash with Viktoria Plzen, Bayern conceded twice after Gravenberch’s introduction. According to Sport1, Nagelsmann and his coaching staff felt the substitute was to blame for both goals.

Then, during a friendly with Red Bull Salzburg in January, Gravenberch was hauled off at half-time. During the break, an irate Nagelsmann reportedly called Gravenberch out for not doing his job from a defensive perspective in front of the entire dressing room, accusing the Netherlands international of jogging back to help out his team-mates when he should have been sprinting.

Again, Nagelsmann publicly stated that Gravenberch has everything required to become a world-class midfielder, but pointed out that at a club like Bayern, the only want to get into a star-studded starting line-up is to “be better than your competitors”. And the coach did not feel that Gravenberch deserved to play ahead of Leon Goretzka or Joshua Kimmich. Nagelsmann clearly didn’t believe he could be trusted to play in a central defensive midfield role.

His successor, Tuchel, quickly reached the same conclusion, arguing that Gravenberch is not a No.6 - but a No.8. Now, it must be acknowledged that Tuchel doesn’t seem to feel that anybody presently on the books at Bayern is capable of delivering exactly what he wants from a defensive midfielder, which has led to tension with Kimmich that sparked talk of him leaving the club during the summer.

Tuchel claimed that he wouldn’t start experimenting with Gravenberch’s position during the tail end of the 2022-23 campaign, given he had only just taken over, but even after a full pre-season, it was clear that he had deemed the Dutchman surplus to requirements.

The 21-year-old was an unused substitute in Bayern's Bundesliga opener at Werder Bremen and only came on for the final nine minutes of last weekend's win over Augsburg. He had previously admitted that he didn't want to waste another season sitting on the bench at Bayern, which was perfectly understandable, and made a transfer inevitable.

Bayern fans are divided over his exit, with some feeling that the club are well rid of a problem player, but others arguing that patience would have been a more prudent approach with such a raw - and young - talent.

Many would also argue that mistakes were made by both parties.

It’s been claimed that Gravenberch felt misled by sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, that promises were made regarding first-team opportunities, which is reportedly why he chose Bayern over Manchester United last summer. If that was the case, the club must take its share of the blame for making something resembling guarantees regarding game time for a player that didn’t have a clearly defined role to play under Nagelsmann.

However, it must also be said that Gravenberch hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory, on or off the field. Right now, in fact, the comparisons with Pogba remain apt only in the sense that there are question marks over his attitude, versatility and lack of defensive discipline.

Consequently, a break-up was probably best for both parties. Indeed, Gravenberch's move from Bayern to Liverpool looks like one of those rare deals that suits absolutely everybody involved.

Obviously, Manchester United were interested right up until Thursday evening and a reunion with Ten Hag at Old Trafford would have made perfect sense, given the manager knows exactly how to get the best out of Gravenberch. The Red Devils, then, could come to regret not pushing harder to Ten Hag's former protege out of Jurgen Klopp's hands.

Indeed, it's not difficult to see Gravenberch rediscovering his best form at Anfield when one considers the way in which another Netherlands international, Gini Wijnaldum, was into transformed one of the most multi-talented midfielders in Europe after arriving on Merseyside. Klopp could undoubtedly repeat the trick with a gifted young man who has lost his way over the last year.

What’s clear, though, is that Gravenberch does not represent the answer to Liverpool’s defensive midfield problem. He may yet develop into a world-class No.6 - but he’s certainly not there yet, as his struggles at Bayern hammered home.

Evidently, he still has much to learn, about handling disappointment most of all. Gravenberch has found the professional game so straightforward up until his move to Munich. How he reacts to that trying time will define him - and his career.

The boy that Tevreden saw in Amsterdam all those years ago may have developed into a "good football player" at Ajax - but we're now about to find out if he can still become a great one.