Liverpool deadline day signing Ryan Gravenberch has left out in the cold by the Netherlands national team bosses, who made their final squad decisions on Monday.
The 21-year-old completed a £40m switch to Anfield from Bayern Munich on September 1. It capped off a jubilant day for the man in question as he was also selected for Michael Reiziger’s Under-21 squad for fixtures against Moldova and North Macedonia.
But to the surprise of his country’s bosses, the midfielder politely declined the call-up so that he could spend the two-week period to bed into his fresh surroundings at the AXA Training Centre, plus the city of Liverpool and England as a whole.
A wise decision for someone so young that would benefit not only himself and his new club, but his national team too, one might think? Well, that wasn’t the view taken across the English channel. Current custodian of the senior team and former Everton boss Ronald Koeman was vexed, unable to see why anyone would say no to their nation.
Gravenberch has since offered proof as to why his personal choice may have been the correct one. He’s made seven appearances in little over a month, and in the three that were in the starting line-up he has scored his first goal for the club, plus made two assists.
“When you give a player minutes, he gets confidence. We’re in such a good mood,” the player said after last week’s 2-0 Europa League triumph against Union Saint-Gilloise.
For Koeman’s first-team, outfield players Noa Lang and Steven Berghuis have dropped out due to injury, whilst Teun Koopmeiners will be assessed. In their place Calvin Stengs of Feyenoord has been called up, whilst Ian Maatsen of Chelsea has been promoted from the Under-21s. Taking the latter’s spot in the youth team is Excelsior Rotterdam’s Julian Bass.
Via NU.nl, Reiziger explained the situation. He said: “It would be strange if it were now over with him [Gravenberch] at the Dutch Juniors. He is a boy with a lot of potential and he is still young. I think that a person always deserves an extra chance. Not everyone makes the best decisions or one where you the consequences of this.
“Nigel [de Jong, director of football at the KNVB] has had contact with him, but I have not. It was not an option to call him up now. The signal has now been sent to him, but you are still busy with a group. It is something you have to want to belong to.
“I don’t know if this is a one-off. But we are not going to write off young players anyway.”
Koeman also offered his thoughts, in the wake of by the midfielder’s absence last month. He responded: “We have a certain opinion about players who opt out of the Dutch Juniors or Oranje. Moreover, Gravenberch has not played much at Livepool yet.
“I hope he will develop further at Liverpool. He is a great talent. If he plays a lot at his club, he is always an option for the Dutch team.”
But for now, at least, the Reds and Gravenberch can be the only beneficiaries of the Netherlands’ decision. For one, the player remains out of harm’s way from injury. He also gets the extra days to train under Jurgen Klopp’s watchful eye, practicing a demanding style of football ready for a potential start ahead of travelling midfield options in the upcoming Merseyside derby against Everton.
