Netherlands coaches are not happy with Ryan Gravenberch’s decision to stay at Liverpool over the international break.
Gravenberch has caused a stir this week by refusing to meet up with the Dutch U21 team. Having just signed for Liverpool, the 21-year-old opted to stay and acclimatise on Merseyside instead.
The move is likely to be met with happiness from Reds fans, who will like the dedication their new midfielder is showing. But according to Fabrizio Romano’s Daily Briefing, those of a Dutch persuasion are less impressed.
“Gravenberch is now making headlines as Ronald Koeman criticised him for not linking up with the Netherlands Under-21s,” says Romano.
“The player has only just moved and wants to focus on Liverpool and to do his best to adapt as quickly as possible to help the squad. Dutch managers are furious as they expected different behaviour, but Gravenberch has his own reasons… I think it’s a typical 50/50 situation.”
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Gravenberch unleashes Dutch fury
Romano is right, your view on this likely depends completely on where your allegiances lie.
Most Liverpool fans will be pleased to see Gravenberch taking things seriously at the club. Having had a move to Bayern Munich go wrong last year, it’s good to see him taking steps to prevent that at Anfield.
But you can also see why his national team wouldn’t be too pleased with his actions.
Ironically, it could all end up impacting one of the reasons Gravenberch decided to join Liverpool in the first place. Having missed out on the Netherlands World Cup squad last year, he’s said to be determined to get in the team for Euro 2024.
His transfer to Liverpool should earn him more playing time, and as a result more chance of making the cut next summer.
But it remains to be seen just how deeply this misstep harms Gravenberch’s chances of doing that.
If he performs as he’s capable of doing for the Reds, maybe coach Ronald Koeman won’t be able to ignore him. But football is littered with international managers who were too stubborn thanks to incidents exactly like this one. Let’s see what happens in the future.