Ryan Gravenberch shares what Pep Lijnders keeps doing for him at half-time now

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Ryan Gravenberch says he’s thankful to assistant manager Pep Lijnders for helping him to settle in at Liverpool.

Having arrived on transfer deadline day, Gravenberch is still in the very earliest days of his time at Anfield. But having grabbed a second assist in two starts on Wednesday, the 21-year-old seems to be finding his feet.

Now, speaking to liverpoolfc.com about his time at the club so far, Gravenberch has named Lijnders as someone who has gone the extra mile so far.

“He [Lijnders] explains to me a lot, also before the games and in the half-times,” says the former Bayern Munich midfielder.

“I like it because he speaks also Dutch so he can explain.”

Gravenberch feels Dutch connection

Perhaps one reason for Gravenberch’s disappointing time at Bayern last year was the lack of any Dutch connection at the club.

Although the former Ajax youngster seems to speak good English, perhaps he’s someone who needs to feel that familiarity to settle in.

Thankfully, there’s plenty of that at Liverpool. Not only does Gravenberch have Lijnders to help him out, but he also has his national team captain – Virgil van Dijk – close to hand.

There’s an age gap of over 10 years between Gravenberch and Van Dijk, but that shouldn’t matter too much in this case.

There’s also Cody Gakpo, who is just a few years older than Liverpool’s new No.38, and will no doubt be regularly by his side, too.

Although he has looked a little rusty in his early outings for the Reds, there are clear signs of what Gravenberch can bring. Once he beds in, he’s going to be a real asset.

When that time does come, Lijnders will have no doubt long stopped his one-on-one team talks. But until then, Jurgen Klopp’s No.2 will continue to be invaluable for the new man. Nice one, Pep.