History could now repeat itself as Liverpool look to repeat Ryan Gravenberch trick on Real Madrid - opinion
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Arne Slot has been searching for the right balance in the Liverpool midfield since adding Florian Wirtz to his squad this summer.Slot’s starting three of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai has been interrupted, and the Reds have not looked quite the same ever since.As a result, the Liverpool head coach has some work to do to find a solution to such a key area of the team.Perhaps the only one guaranteed to keep his place in the reshuffle – at least in his current position – is Gravenberch, who has been consistently brilliant throughout the past year.With Wirtz likely to cement his place as a more attacking midfielder, Slot perhaps needs to decide who is the most effective player to sit beside Gravenberch.Szoboszlai and Mac Allister both have huge qualities, but with something not quite working in the engine room for Slot, a door looks set to open for Liverpool to secure their ideal midfield sitter: Eduardo Camavinga.Photo by Diego Souto/Getty ImagesLiverpool can poach Eduardo Camavinga from Real MadridAs Rousing The Kop revealed on Friday, Camavinga could leave Real Madrid next summer amid a serious lack of game time under Xabi Alonso.Although some supporters will wrinkle their noses at the prospect of signing a Madrid cast-off, they need only look at the example of Gravenberch to see why they should not be so sniffy.READ MORE: Attention Newcastle fans: Alexander Isak is a Liverpool player, it is time to move onTo put it bluntly, Gravenberch failed at Bayern Munich after joining from Ajax in 2022. But having fallen out of favour under Alonso, and still yet to turn 23, he can revive his career at another of Europe’s biggest clubs.Ryan Gravenberch and Camavinga can start togetherSome Liverpool fans will disagree that the Reds need another midfielder at all.
As a result, he may be obtainable below market value, just like Gravenberch was.SeasonAppearancesGoalsAssists2021/2240222022/2359022023/2446032024/2535222025/26510Eduardo Camavinga at Real MadridHe may have played far more matches than your average player of his age, but Camavinga has years left at the top of the game and could even get better. If there’s a chance those years could come with Liverpool, the Reds have to seriously explore it.
They did that with Gravenberch and have reaped the rewards.As they are virtually the same age, Gravenberch and Camavinga could form the basis of Liverpool’s midfield for years to come. If his playing time does not improve over the course of the season, they could do the same with Camavinga in 2026.