“I don’t think he sees him as the man" - Carragher says Arne Slot isn’t fully convinced about £34m Liverpool player
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has claimed that Arne Slot is yet to be fully convinced with Ryan Gravenberch. The Dutch midfielder started the new season with a strong showing against Ipswich Town, helping the Reds secure a 2-0 win.
Gravenberch was handed a start by new Liverpool manager Arne Slot in a double pivot alongside Alexis Mac Allister. The 22-year-old repaid his manager for his faith in him as he enjoyed a great game at Portman Road.
The former Ajax and Bayern Munich midfielder registered a passing accuracy of 86% against Ipswich. He made nine passes into the final third, made two recoveries and looked assured on the ball.
However, Jamie Carragher has claimed that Slot is unlikely to be convinced by his compatriot's showing against a newly-promoted team. He insisted that Slot might look to sign a new number six this summer despite missing out on Martin Zubimendi. Carragher said on Sky Sports, as quoted by TBR Football:
“Now, of course, he (Arne Slot) is still going to try to buy someone in that role. I don’t think he sees him (Gravenberch) as the man now because he had a good game against Ipswich."
The former Liverpool and England defender added:
"Let’s not forget it is a promoted team, but over the next sort of few weeks and certainly next week if Gravenberch is still in the position away at Old Trafford, that’s when you really judge a player, when you are playing in big arenas, away games, and certainly that role for Arne Slot, taking the ball off the back-four in pressured moments."
Carragher claimed that Gravenberch will be truly judged by how he fares against Manchester United next week at Old Trafford. He said:
“That would be more I would say next week at Old Trafford than maybe even here today.”
Gravenberch had a mixed debut season at Liverpool upon joining the Merseyside giants in a £34 million deal from Bayern Munich last summer. He has so far made 39 appearances for the Reds scoring four times while providing two assists.
Jamie Carragher offers his thoughts on Liverpool's quiet summer so far
Former Liverpool defender turned pundit Jamie Carragher has shared his thoughts on his former club's lack of activity in the transfer market. The Reds have not signed a single player so far this summer causing major frustration in the fanbase.
However, Carragher believes that the Merseyside giants are probably planning for the long term. He also insisted that he has no concerns with the club's recent track record in the transfer market. He said, as quoted by Sky Sports Premier League on X (formerly Twitter):
“In the past under Jurgen Klopp they always work 12 months in advance. They were always thinking not about this window, it was the next window. They’ve come in late, they’ve had to bed a manager in; they’ve obviously got this problem in terms of the contracts they will have to fix before Christmas."
The former England defender added:
“But the reason why Liverpool I don’t think are thinking about buying players now is they are probably thinking about next summer. That might sound ridiculous, but Liverpool I think in the last few years, or more than that, five to ten years, they haven’t panicked in the transfer market and I love that about Liverpool."
Carragher, however, admitted that Liverpool will need reinforcements to compete with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City for the title. He concluded:
“Do they need reinforcements in certain positions? Yes. Do they need more quality to compete with Manchester City and Arsenal? Yes. But when you perform badly in the transfer market or make bad signings that can set you back as a football club two or three seasons.”
Although Arne Slot's side are yet to welcome a new face this summer, they have seen big departures. Joel Matip left on a free transfer while Thiago Alcantara hung up his boots. Highly-rated youngsters Sepp van den Berg and Fabio Carvalho joined fellow Premier League side Brentford.