Gravenberch can help solve Liverpool's counter weakness

The 23-year-old's importance in shielding the back four is turning him into one of Arne Slot's indispensable players.

Photo: IMAGO | Anfield Index

Perhaps it is because the transfer window is open that it is so tempting to suggest that a single player can be the solution to all a team’s ills.

At this time of year, we tend to forget that it takes more than any one individual to win major honours, and that the quality of their teammates, relationships within the team, a well-coached structure, and a little bit of luck are also key.

Yet as much as that is true, top teams also have players whose traits they will always struggle to replicate in their absence.

For example, you can talk about depth as much as you like, but the fact is that Liverpool would not have won the league last season had, say, Mohamed Salah been injured for its entirety, while the same possibly goes for Virgil van Dijk.

And recent events have you wondering whether Ryan Gravenberch is now starting to position himself in that irreplaceable category.

That certainly looked to be the case during the Community Shield defeat to Crystal Palace and opening-day Premier League win over Bournemouth, where the Reds were far too easily counterattacked in the absence of an out-and-out defensive midfielder.

Of course, setup matters, and always being prepared to stop quick breaks is a tactical aspect that the coach has to instil in possession-dominant teams.

However, a quick glimpse of the below frame, which comes second before Bournemouth’s second goal on Friday, is a reminder that profiles are also hugely important, largely because curbing your players’ instincts for 90 minutes is almost impossible.

Eight Liverpool players are situated ahead of the ball and in the Cherries’ box here, including ‘holding midfielders’ Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones.

It is hardly a leap to suggest that Ryan Gravenberch, who took 28 touches in the opposition area last season to Szoboszlai’s 108, Jones’ 64 and Alexis Mac Allister’s 63, might not have been so gung-ho in his positioning.

A heatmap of the Dutchman’s ground challenges last term is also proof of his adeptness in stepping up to win the ball in the area from which Bournemouth launched the counter.