Liverpool have been enjoying an excellent start to the season, winning three games out of three in the Premier League.
The Reds were heading into the unknown this summer, with a brand new man overseeing the first-team squad.
However, things could hardly have gone better for Arne Slot. The Dutchman has stepped into the enormous void left by Jurgen Klopp and quickly gone about filling it.
For now, it almost feels that everything Slot touches at Liverpool turns to gold. It truly has been a dream start.
Perhaps the biggest example of the 45-year-old’s Midas touch is the turnaround in form from Ryan Gravenberch. After shifting to a deeper-lying midfield role, Gravenberch has been tremendous.
Ryan Gravenberch explains change in form
Gravenberch looked like a slightly odd signing upon his arrival last September. The Netherlands international was far from being the elite defensive midfielder the fanbase had craved.
While that did not turn out to be a huge issue last season, with Wataru Endo stepping up nicely, it had looked set to be a problem this time.
Slot had tried to sign Martin Zubimendi as he looked for a midfielder who could sit deep and control the play.
Unable to bring the Spaniard to Anfield, though, Slot was forced to go with Gravenberch in his starting XI. So far, that has proven to be an immaculate decision.
Gravenberch has admitted that he’s happy working under his compatriot whilst away on the current international break.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp gives his verdict on Ryan Gravenberch’s new position for Liverpool
And expanding on that sentiment, the 22-year-old attempted to explain why Liverpool fans are now seeing the best of him.
“There were sometimes games [last season] where I had only touched the ball once after five or six minutes,” Gravenberch says in quotes from soccerews.nl.
“Then you don’t get into your game well. Now I get the ball more, then you get more comfortable.
“He [Slot] just saw this. In the end, it worked out well. Now I’m fine, so, yes. Everyone is full of praise for him.”
Will Liverpool come back for Martin Zubimendi?
Despite how well Gravenberch is doing, there remains a feeling that he is something of a temporary fix for Slot.
This could change, of course. If the former Ajax man continues his form up until Christmas, for example, then it will signal that he can be part of the Liverpool starting XI moving forward.
But there have been suggestions that Liverpool are still looking for the right defensive midfielder in the transfer market.
There have in fact been claims that Liverpool could come back in for Zubimendi if the conditions are right in the winter.
So, for the time being Gravenberch has the shirt. But now that we’ve seen exactly what he’s all about, the pressure is on to keep it.
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