Arne Slot confirms ANOTHER Ryan Gravenberch is joining Liverpool first team

If there is one thing could hold Liverpool back this season, it's Arne Slot's overreliance on Ryan Gravenberch but the Dutchman might have just found a way to fix that.

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Gravenberch is playing a lot of minutes this season. Almost too many. Only Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have played more minutes for the Reds this season.

That is an indication of just how important Gravenberch has been. But it's also an indication of just how ill supplied Slot is in that holding midfield department.

Which is exactly why Liverpool wanted to sign Martin Zubimendi in the summer. That deal never materialised but there might be a silver lining in that for the Reds.

A silver lining that became apparent against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday night.

Arne Slot confirms James McConnell plans as he looks to emulate Gravenberch

With Gravenberch staying in Liverpool for the Reds' final Champions League game, James McConnell was finally given his moment to shine under Slot.

It's a moment the young midfielder has been waiting for months. Injuries meant McConnell was never really able to prove himself during the beginning of Slot's tenure in pre-season and thus failed to build on the impact he had made under Jurgen Klopp last season.

But perseverance pays off. McConnell may have had to wait more than six months for his opportunity however when he did finally get it, he grabbed it with both hands.

The youngster put in a brilliant performance for the Reds, winning the most tackles (4) on the pitch and showing he can be a genuine option for the holding midfield role.

Slot was so impressed by him, he confirmed in his post-match press conference that McConnell will be staying at the club and that he plans to use him more often in the first team.

“There is definitely one of them that will not go on loan," Slot said.

"I think you know which one I mean. James McConnell. I wouldn’t say definitely, but I liked him a lot today, so maybe now the end result today would be it’d be good for him to go somewhere and play.

"He was also a player that hasn’t played in the last six or seven months 90 minutes because he was injured for a while. He impressed me a lot today.”

That's fantastic news. Gravenberch needs some respite, and it looks like in McConnell Slot finally has someone who he trusts for the role.

It should come as no surprise, McConnell is a brilliant footballer. He proved that with his performance against Chelsea at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final, dominating a midfield that had both Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in it who the Blues bought for stupid amounts of money.

Against PSV, McConnell show he has the technical skills, the defensive ability and the engine to play in this midfield role. He covered a whopping 12.4 kilometres, which was the most anyone covered for Liverpool.

This has been indicative of Gravenberch this season as well. Even after missing a game in the Champions League, he's still covered the most distances for Liverpool in the competition overall (71.6km).

Based on everything we've seen of McConnell so far in the first team, it's clear he is ready for a bigger role in the first team and being Gravenberch's deputy could be the perfect next step in his development.

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