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By Joe Durrans

It is apparent that Arne Slot lacks backup options when it comes to defensive midfielders, his current double pivot of Gravenberch and Mac Allister holds the perfect balance between grit and footballing ability.

Slot is a manager who likes his midfielders to pick the ball up in the second phase of play which means that he does not currently use a Rodri-type destroyer that will sit in front of the defence and take the pressure off the backline.



He is also a very strong dribbler which matches the profile of Gravenberch as he sees opportunities to drive his team forward many times a game and almost always ends up creating something dangerous, he ranks in the 85th percentile for progressive carries and the 93rd percentile for carries into the opposition penalty box.

As the deepest midfielder in a possession-based team, he measures risk and reward perfectly, he is also a very secure player in tight spaces with the eye to move the ball forward to make something happen as opposed to just playing the safe passes.

He would be a good fit for Arne Slot as it would allow Liverpool to commit more players in attack as he loves to sit in front of the back line and make sure the game keeps ticking over.

He would be very good for Liverpool since he is not fixated on protecting the back four, instead he picks the ball up higher up the pitch and looks to carry his team forward with carries, passes and one-twos.

His main issue is that he is not a very explosive midfielder so he may slow down the transition of an Arne Slot team, but he will definitely be able to evade this by using his footballing brain and incredibly strong stature on the ball.