New Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch has picked an Arsenal player as the one he would like to play with at Anfield.
The 21-year-old was the final piece of the puzzle in Liverpool’s midfield rebuild over the summer. The Dutchman angled for a way out of Bayern Munich after seeing his game-time severely restricted under both Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel last term.
Liverpool showed interest throughout the summer and secured a deadline day swoop worth €40m {approx. £34m}
Gravenberch has settled in quickly on Merseyside and notched his first assist for his new club in the 3-1 Europa League victory over LASK. Another assist followed as Liverpool again came from behind to beat Leicester in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night.
Gravenberch is in familiar company at Anfield among fellow Netherlands internationals Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo.
The pair will no doubt ensure Liverpool’s newest midfielder beds in quickly and if his encouraging early showings are anything to go by, Gravenberch already feels at home.
Gravenberch recently conducted a Q&A on Reddit via Sky Sports and was asked which fellow Dutchman he wants Liverpool to sign and why.
“If you and the Dutch gang could recruit another compatriot to Liverpool, who would you want it to be and why,” posed a Redditor.
Gravenberch pointed towards north London when naming Jurrien Timber. Like Gravenberch, Timber moved to England over the summer when joining Arsenal, though the versatile defender cruelly suffered an ACL injury on his debut.
Nonetheless, Gravenberch and Timber remain close friends from their time together in Amsterdam at Ajax. As such, Gravenberch’s decision was an easy one to make.
“I would maybe go for a good friend of mine, Jurrien Timber,” replied Gravenberch. “I played my whole life with him. He’s like a brother to me. That’s why I chose him.”
With Timber under contract with the Gunners until 2028 and Arsenal very much in the ascendancy right now, we don’t expect Gravenberch to get his wish any time soon.
