Ten Hag thoughts clear on Liverpool target 'better than Bellingham at everything'

Stuart Telford

• 22 Jun 2023 15:54 BST
• 3 min read

Liverpool may have missed out on Jude Bellingham but their Plan B, Ryan Gravenberch, is a superior player according to Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, who coached him at Ajax.

Bellingham had been Jurgen Klopp's top transfer target since last summer, but his rise with Borussia Dortmund and England has been such that Real Madrid have now swopped in to sign him for an initial €103 million.

The Reds have since bolstered their midfield with the £35m acquisition of Argentina World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton, but further spending in the position is expected, with Gravenberch one of a number of players linked, alongside Khephren Thuram and Manu Kone.

READ: EXCLUSIVE: Gravenberch to JUMP at Liverpool transfer

Gravenberch has struggled for playing time since joining Bayern Munich from Ajax in a €18.5m deal last summer, but he won two Dutch domestic doubles under Ten Hag, who has given the player his full backing.

'Better than Bellingham. At everything'

"He's very important for our team because he's a box-to-box player,:" Ten Hag told Sport1 when still in charge at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

"He accelerates out of positional play, does good dribbling, has tremendous passing ability and participates in the build-up play."

READ: Gravenberch demands 'change' at Bayern amid Liverpool speculation

For former Ajax, Real Madrid and Netherlands star Rafael van der Vaart, Gravenberch would be a better signing that Bellingham anyway.

"Ryan Gravenberch is better than Jude Bellingham. At everything," he told Ziggo Sport.

Whether Gravenberch is the next midfielder Liverpool add to their ranks remains to be seen, but the Reds can be optimistic of getting him for less than the €51.9m he is valued at by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm given he was restricted to just three Bundesliga starts last season.

Gravenberch appears to be open to the move, saying recently that he needed more minutes "whether with Bayern or someone else."