Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool have an ‘incredible talent’ who’s about to get much more game time

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Liverpool’s season has so far been defined by Jurgen Klopp giving minutes to his younger players.

The Reds have had to trust youngsters as their more senior players have struggled with injuries. Thankfully, they’ve tended to come up trumps.

The spotlight has rightly been shone on the likes of Jarell Quansah and Conor Bradley in particular. The pair have absolutely done the academy proud.

So too has Harvey Elliott, who is still only 21 himself. Meanwhile, it’s also been another season of progression from Curtis Jones.

Amid all of that though, Liverpool actually have another 21-year-old who is perhaps overlooked himself. Perhaps recognising this, Klopp went out of his way to praise his player this afternoon.

Jurgen Klopp praises Ryan Gravenberch ‘talent’

Of Liverpool’s quartet of new, summer signings, Ryan Gravenberch has comfortably found things the most difficult.

While Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo have formed their own ‘fantastic’ partnership and Dominik Szoboszlai has shone, Gravenberch has struggled at times.

Injuries haven’t helped, with the Dutchman only just returning from his latest lay-off. But overall, his form has declined a little after a bright start.

But when asked about Gravenberch by a Dutch journalist during his pre-Atalanta press conference today, Klopp insisted that the midfielder has a big role coming up.

“Ryan played super important games for us, got injured in bad moments where he could get some rhythm,” explained the manager.

“Little injuries here and there, incredible talent, crazy first touch, movement, acceleration, all fantastic but we have a really good midfield together,” Klopp added. “He will get minutes more and more, 100 per cent. He’s an incredibly talented player and I really think he’s in the right place.”

How much has Ryan Gravenberch played for Liverpool

Part of the reason Gravenberch struggled to get going initially at Anfield was that he’d barely played for Bayern Munich last season.

Having only arrived from Ajax the year before, the Netherlands international might have expected a bigger role. However, he ended up starting only three Bundesliga games all year.

At Liverpool, this has improved. His 10 league starts from 21 appearances aren’t exactly key player numbers mind you. Gravenberch might have expected more.

He has played 33 times in all competitions, just one shy of his total for Bayern last year. As Klopp alludes to, that number will grow over the next weeks. It feels like we might start seeing the best of Gravenberch only once Klopp leaves next season. Between now and then though, he does have a part to play.