Dirk Kuyt names key qualities 'amazing' Ryan Gravenberch can bring to Liverpool

Ex-Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt has revealed he was 'excited' by the news of Ryan Gravenberch joining his old club.

Gravenberch completed an £34m Deadline Day transfer to the Reds from Bayern Munich, becoming Jurgen Klopp's fourth midfield arrival of the summer window.

The Netherlands international is able to play in a variety of roles and was known to be on Liverpool's radar for some time, with Melissa Reddy even reporting that the club had him on a list of potential 'game-changers' alongside Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni.

Ex-Red and fellow Dutchman Kuyt believes that Gravenberch will prove a good addition for Liverpool, as he outlined the youngster's qualities.

"First of all, he’s a very intelligent player," Kuyt told BettingSites. "He was unbelievable at Ajax. He always managed to play at a very high level at a very young age. He then took the next step at Bayern Munich - which got me very excited as it proves he could play with the best in Europe.

"Unfortunately, he didn’t get the game time he expected there. When I heard the rumours about him going to Liverpool I was very excited. I think he’ll definitely fit into Jurgen’s team and I expect a lot from him."

Gravenberch struggled in his single season at Bayern Munich, with the midfielder restricted to just three Bundesliga starts in 2022/23. However, Kuyt added that he expects his ability to shine through at Anfield.

READ MORE: What went wrong for Ryan Gravenberch at Bayern Munich?

"Hopefully he can get back to the level we saw at Ajax," Kuyt said. "He was unable to do that at Bayern as he didn’t have many games, but I think he's a player who can run forever and has great quality with his feet.

"Not only can he run forever, but his quality on the ball is amazing. He can pick the ball up from his defenders, but also feed the ball into the strikers. The quality of his runs are amazing, and so is his passing. He’s also very young and he’ll bring a lot of things to the team."

Liverpool fans are being made to wait to see their new man in action. Gravenberch's signing wasn't registered in time for him to be involved in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa, while Klopp's side don't play again until after the international break.

He could make his debut in the visit to Molineux to take on Wolves in the Premier League (Saturday, 16 September) , or when the Reds begin their Europa League campaign away to LASK  (Thursday, 21 September).