Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch sealed a last-minute move to English Premier League side Liverpool from German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich on the summer transfer deadline day.
The question being asked here is, now that Virgil Van Dyke faces his ban being extended, will the new arrival help solve Liverpool’s defensive issues? Let’s take a closer look.
A look at Liverpool’s busy transfer window
Liverpool have had a relatively busy transfer window, losing several big-named stars and bringing in just as many new players. Some of their biggest departures this year were Roberto Firmino (free transfer to Al-Ahli), Jordan Henderson (€14 million to Al-Ettifaq), and Fabinho (€46.7 million to Al-Ittihad Club).
Other departures included Fabio Carvalho (loan transfer to RB Leipzig), James Milner (free transfer to Brighton), and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (free transfer to Besiktas). Some of their biggest signings were Dominik Szoboszlai (from RB Leipzig for €70 million), Alexis Mac Allister (€42 million from Brighton), and Ryan Gravenberch (€40 million from Bayern Munich).
Can Gravenberch help fix Liverpool’s defensive issues?
The right-footed central midfielder is likely to play more of a defensive role to help fix some of the issues Liverpool is encountering at the back. The Dutch international didn’t get much playing time under Julian Nagelsmann or Thomas Tuchel and expressed his wish to join the Reds in the Premier League.
He could be just what Liverpool have been looking for, but only time will tell what kind of impact he might have on the club.
He has been described as a box-to-box central midfielder and is likely to become a key player. He is calm under pressure and has excellent skills and technical ability. He will also bring a lot of creativity to the team.
Can Liverpool win the Premier League or the UEFA Europa League?
If you look at sites like the official 32 red sports website, you will see that Liverpool are the current odds-on favourite team to win the Europa League and the third odds-on favourite team to win the 2023/24 English Premier League. Let’s take a closer look at the odds:
- UEFA Europa League – They currently have odds of 3/1 in the fractional odds format. In other words, Liverpool have a 25% implied probability rate of winning (odds-on favourites)
- English Premier League – They currently have odds of 9/1. Therefore, the Reds have a 10% chance of winning (third odds-on favourites, behind Arsenal and Manchester City)
Recent results and upcoming fixtures
Liverpool are currently third in the English Premier League with 10 points after 4 games played. They have won 3 and drawn 1, which puts them level on points with second-place Tottenham Hotspur, fourth-place West Ham United and fifth-place Arsenal.
In their opening game of the new 2023/24 Premier League campaign, they could only manage a 1-1 draw with Chelsea before beating Bournemouth 3-1 at Anfield on August 19th.
In their next match, which was away to Newcastle on August 27th, Liverpool won 2-1, and then on September 3rd, they beat Aston Villa 3-0.
In their next Premier League fixture on September 16th after the international break, they travel away to play Wolves, and then on September 21st, they play their first group stage match in the Europa League against LASK Linz.
The two other teams also in Group F with Liverpool and LASK Linz are Toulouse and Union Saint-Gilloise. Liverpool play Union Saint-Gilloise on October 5th, and then on October 26th, they play Toulouse.
There’s a good chance Liverpool can go all the way and win the Europa League, but don’t forget that anything can happen in football and that no bets are ever guaranteed to win, no matter how certain the odds seem.
