Liverpool legend says Gravenberch is BETTER than Champions League winner

One thing that will always be remembered from the Jurgen Klopp era - amongst many things - is the talent and doggedness of the midfield trios that the German assembled.

Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner were the infamous triplet that started the 2018 Champions League final against Real Madrid. Fabinho replaced Milner for the 2019 success over Tottenham, and Thiago Alcantara replaced Wijnaldum for the 2022 heartbreak again to Madrid.

As a result, his leaving of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai to new manager Arne Slot is looking like an ever-increasing special leaving lift. 

Read more: Arne Slot delivers his VERDICT on the season so far

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It is Gravenberch in particular who has turned heads in this early season, drawing comparisons to Wijnaldum from those world-beating midfields of a few years ago. However, Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson doesn’t think those comparisons are fair.

“I don’t just think Ryan Gravenberch is Liverpool’s Gini Wijnaldum replacement – I think he’s better than him.” said Lawrenson speaking to SportingCasting.

“Wijnaldum was a really good player for Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp, but I think Gravenberch has got a little burst of pace and more attacking qualities that Gini didn’t have.” Lawrenson continued, 

And a look at the underlying numbers gives credence to Lawrenson’s case. Gravenberch’s 3 progressive carries per-90 so far this season beats anything Wijnaldum managed (2.27 per-90 highest in 2019-20), as do his 7.17 progressive passes per-90 against Gini’s 5.54 highest in 2018-19. Whilst Gravenberch’s shot creating actions per 90 sit lower than Wijnaldum’s did in his stint at Liverpool, the current Liverpool player outranks his former compatriot in goal creation actions, 0.5 per-90 to Wijnaldum’s 0.21 highest in 2020-21.

Gravenberch is also doing much more defensively than Wijnaldum’s role demanded of him. Gravenberch commits 2.5 tackles per-90 at the minute, whilst Wijnaldum’s highest reached 1.36 (2018-19). Gravenberch’s Tackle + Interception rate of 4.17 per-90 is almost double that of Gini’s highest 2.23 in 2017-18.

In just taking a overarching look at the profiles that the two cut, Lawrenson has a point. He contributes to the attack and build-up play more actively than Wijnaldum ever managed whilst also anchoring the entire midfield with a high rate in key defensive actions.

Lawrenson’s praise didn’t stop there. “He looks a really classy player at the moment and compliments Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai really well.” he carried on, “All three midfielders have started the campaign very promisingly, which is great to see. I don’t think there’s a better midfield trio in the league at the moment.”

The last statement is an incredibly bold claim given the calibre of midfielders that the Premier League houses at the moment. However, with Liverpool top of the league and the improvements in level seen particularly by Gravenberch and Mac Allister, it’s a claim that might just ring true.