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Arne Slot makes Ryan Gravenberch point as he highlights Richard Hughes’ approach to transfers at Liverpool

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Liverpool’s transfer activity has always been under the microscope by fans of the Merseyside club.

The Reds have never been able to spend the amounts of money seen thrown around by the likes of Man City, Man United and Chelsea; however, it has not stopped the Merseyside outfit from competing in recent years.

The 2024/25 season has been the perfect example as Liverpool only welcomed Federico Chiesa to Arne Slot’s squad last summer, while Giorgi Mamardashvili was acquired from Valencia but went back to the La Liga club on loan for the remainder of the term.

After big expenditures during the summer of 2023, Slot has got the best out of the squad Jurgen Klopp left behind and the result? Liverpool currently sit at the top of the Premier League while also remaining in every cup competition.

This has also put Liverpool in a great position for the 2025 summer transfer window, as the Merseyside club will have a lot of funds to spend and know where they need to use them.

Slot has admitted that one current Liverpool star is a great example of how the Reds operate and that he can provide some of his teammates with a lot of hope.

AFC Bournemouth v Liverpool FC - Premier League
Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Ryan Gravenberch is a ‘great example’ of Liverpool’s transfer policy

During the summer transfer window, Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi was the top target for Liverpool, however, the Reds would fail to land the Euro 2024 winner.

That required Liverpool to rethink what they were going to do for the number six role, resulting in Slot using Ryan Gravenberch in the position.

Slot has admitted that the Dutch star is a ‘great example’ of how players within the current squad can improve and that new players are not always the answer.

“I think Richard said this already and maybe I said it once or twice as well that with the ‘new regime’ coming in, with Richard, me and some others, the first thing we wanted to do was see what we had over here,” Slot told The Mirror.

“What could we do with them? Ryan Gravenberch is a great example of that, he quickly became the No.6 just by working with players and every single day or a lot of days, we constantly adjust asking: where are we?

“What quality do we have? Can we add something? Yes or no. And then there is the question: is that quality available? Only so many players are good enough to play for this team.”

Gravenberch has been sensational since stepping up for Liverpool and it has saved the Reds millions as the Merseyside club will not have to address the role ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

The real Ryan Gravenberch has arrived at Liverpool

Danny Murphy heaped praise on Gravenberch for his recent performance against Ipswich and that was one of many from the Dutch star throughout the 2024/25 campaign.

Having arrived from Bayern Munich during the summer of 2023 as part of a £34m deal, Gravenberch struggled at Anfield during Jurgen Klopp’s final season, however, that is no longer the case as the 22-year-old is a key player for Slot.

The midfielder has featured in every Premier League match for Liverpool this season, while the recent PSV Eindhoven clash has been the only Champions League game missed by the former Ajax star.

MetricStat
Expected assists2.71
Successful passes1135
Pass accuracy89.7%
Chances created21
Succesful dribbles22
Successful dribbles116
Interceptions40
Recoveries125
Ryan Gravenberch’s 2024/25 stats

The numbers back up the importance of Gravenberch within the current Liverpool squad and it is hard to see anyone taking the Dutch international’s place anytime soon.

The Reds may sign a new number six this summer to provide support for the 22-year-old as it remains to be seen if Wataru Endo remains at Liverpool beyond the current campaign.