Cody Gakpo has expressed his pride in seeing his compatriot, Ryan Gravenberch, display his remarkable skills to a global audience.
Although the two Netherlands internationals didn’t become teammates at Liverpool until the summer of 2023, Gakpo was already familiar with Gravenberch’s abilities from their time in the Eredivisie, with Gakpo at PSV Eindhoven and Gravenberch at AFC Ajax.
Now in his second season with the Reds, Gravenberch has earned widespread praise for his performances in a new, deeper-lying midfield role under manager Arne Slot.
Having started 15 of the 17 matches so far this season, Gravenberch’s contributions have been pivotal as Slot’s side sits at the top of both the Premier League and the Champions League during the current international window.
“We [the Dutchmen at Liverpool] knew Ryan already from the Eredivisie when he played at Ajax, and I think everybody knew already that he is this good,” Cody Gakpo recently told Men in Blazers.
“After, he made a move to Bayern Munich and maybe he didn’t play that much over there, but still everybody in Holland knew how good he could be when he was playing.
“And I think maybe the manager [Slot] also knew this. At the beginning of the season he put him in a slightly different position but he gave him the confidence to play there.
“Ryan showed his quality at that position, grabbed his chance as well and turned out to be a good match. He is playing outstandingly for us this season.
“I’m very happy that we can see the Ryan we as Dutchmen already knew, but now he can show it to the whole world. I’m very proud of him.”
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