Ryan Gravenberch has recovered from being out of favour at Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp last season to being a pinnacle part of the team’s title charge under Arne Slot – and Jamie Carragher paid the midfielder the highest of compliments
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has hailed Ryan Gravenberch and compared him to Patrick Vieira after a superb season under Arne Slot.
Gravenberch helped Liverpool reach the Carabao Cup final after a thumping 4-0 win over Tottenham, which saw them overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, with the Dutchman playing the full 90 minutes to easily dominate the midfield.
The 22-year-old has recovered from being out of favour under Jurgen Klopp last season to being a pinnacle part of Liverpool’s title charge under Slot and Carragher paid the youngster the highest of compliments while raving about his displays.
Speaking ahead of Liverpool’s thrashing of Spurs, Carragher said he reminded him of Arsenal’s legendary midfielder with the way he makes driving runs through midfield.
“It is really interesting as they thought a lot of him when he came in,’ he said. “The reason Bayern Munich let him go was because they played a different system. Liverpool played 4-3-3, he was more of an attacking midfielder, he would go on runs with his long legs.
“When Liverpool tried out players in the six, he was trialling them. They weren’t fully sure of the idea – he was he was more attacking. I was really intrigued, but I couldn’t see how it would work.
“The highest compliment I can give him is he would be in the running for player of the year, he reminisces of Patrick Vieira, the long legs, moving through midfield. He has been a revelation.”
Liverpool racked up a huge win thanks to goals from Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Dominik Szoboszlai – who Carragher said he wasn’t a huge fan of during an interview this week.
The Hungarian finished off a super Liverpool team move against Tottenham but ex-defender Carragher claimed he would rather have West Ham star Lucas Paqueta.
“I was commentating on West Ham but I was just watching Paqueta thinking ‘oh my’ every time he brought the ball down on his chest or his shoulder,” he said on the Overlap Fan Debate, via Sky Bet.
“I was actually thinking would Liverpool sign him. And I think of Liverpool because I’m not Szoboszlai’s biggest fan but he’s got great athleticism. He gets talked about as our No 10 and people say he’s great off the ball, but I’m thinking: ‘He’s the No 10, he’s scored three goals’.
“And I know he does a great job for the team but Slot would probably still prefer Szoboszlai than Paqueta.”
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