Thomas Tuchel has told Ryan Gravenberch he’s free to leave Bayern Munich amid interest from Liverpool and Manchester United.
Gravenberch has been one of the players most regularly linked with Liverpool this summer. But Bayern have always stood firm that they don’t want to lose him. Now, with Manchester United circling as well, journalist Christian Falk says Tuchel has opened the door to an exit.
“I know for sure that Jurgen Klopp is very, very interested in Ryan Gravenberch, and now the situation has changed,” Falk writes on Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing.
“Gravenberch has permission from Thomas Tuchel to leave Bayern Munich because Tuchel’s idea is that, if they sell him (and Liverpool have signalled that they could pay £20m), Tuchel would get funds perhaps to fund a new No.6.
“The board had said no to his request, but if there’s money coming in from the potential sale of Gravenberch, he could try to get a holding midfielder for the squad.
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“I think Gravenberch is open to both clubs, Liverpool and Manchester United. He’s very interested in the Premier League. He will choose the club that shows him he’ll get playing time.
“I think Klopp is a very good guy to pursue people, so, at the moment, I would see Liverpool being at the front in this race. For Gravenberch, he wouldn’t necessarily mind which club it is. He wants to leave.”
Liverpool still hot on Gravenberch trail
It’s quite bizarre that this transfer saga has now dragged on for as long as it has. Having refused to sell Gravenberch all summer, why would Bayern choose to let him go right at the end?
Although that would give them a little boost in terms of funds, there’s hardly enough time to get the cogs going on a new addition.
If they were happy to let the 21-year-old go, then they should have done it months ago.
Nevertheless, it seems as though Liverpool are still actively interested in Gravenberch. He wouldn’t be many supporters’ first choice as a new addition, but Klopp appears to rate him very highly.
So too, does United boss Erik ten Hag. Having been coached by Ten Hag as a youngster at Ajax, it seems a good bet that the Dutchman would be keen on a reunion at Old Trafford.
But as Falk points out, Klopp can be very persuasive when selling the merits of joining Liverpool.
For now, it seems as though the Reds can count on being in pole position should Bayern take Tuchel’s advice and let Gravenberch go.