Phil Thompson says ‘graceful’ Liverpool player has one major flaw

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Phil Thompson has said Ryan Gravenberch’s fitness needs to improve if the Liverpool player is to become a superstar in the Premier League.

Speaking to Liverpool’s official Twitter account, the former Anfield hero was full of praise for the 21-year-old midfielder but admitted that Gravenberch doesn’t look 100% ready yet for the Premier League.

The youngster joined from Bayern Munich having spent the entire year essentially on the bench, and Thompson thinks Gravenberch can become a great player for Liverpool if his fitness improves.

Thompson said on Gravenberch: “I’ve watched him play, and when he started, he gets about an hour and you’ve gone: ‘wow, what a player here’.

“But in that last half an hour you’re thinking: ‘he drifts out of the game’, which I think is his fitness when playing in the Premier League.

“He played very little for Bayern last season, yet he bursts past people so easily, so graceful, and he’s bringing another asset to this team. This guy is something different.”

Gravenberch’s fitness has to improve if he wants to star for Liverpool

Gravenberch has impressed for Liverpool since moving from Bayern this summer, yet Thompson is right that the midfielder’s fitness needs to improve.

The Premier League is an unforgiving division for those who don’t have the physicality to dominate week-in week-out, and Gravenberch will need to reach that level.

Indeed, Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp won’t accept anything less, and Gravenberch knows that he has to do a lot of work in training and in the gym to catch up with his teammates.