You could forgive Liverpool supporters for having been concerned that Jurgen Klopp’s departure in the summer of 2024 would lead to a period of decline at Anfield.
The German led the club back to glory during his spell that lasted more than nine years, winning the Premier League and the Champions League during his tenure.
You only have to look at Arsenal and Manchester United since the departures of Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson to see how an exit like that can be tough to recover from, as neither of those clubs have won a Premier League title without Wenger or Ferguson.
However, Arne Slot arrived from Feyenoord to replace Klopp in the dugout and hit the ground running by winning the league title in his first year at Anfield.
The Dutch head coach was a breath of fresh air in the Premier League last season with his side’s gung-ho approach to matches. They were incredibly fun to watch.
One of the players who has benefitted the most from the managerial change from Klopp to Slot is defensive midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, who has been transformed over the past 18 months or so.
How Arne Slot saved Ryan Gravenberch's Liverpool career
Liverpool signed the Netherlands international from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023 to bolster their options in the middle of the park, but he endured a frustrating first season at Anfield.
Gravenberch only started 12 of his 26 appearances in the Premier League under Klopp and mainly played as the left-sided central midfielder, tasked with getting forward to support the attack.
It was a role that did not suit the Dutch midfielder and his performances in that position led to his future at Anfield being thrown into doubt. Turkish giants Galatasaray were even linked with a move for his services in April 2024.
However, Slot’s arrival at the club later that summer saved Gravenberch’s career at the club, because the head coach correctly profiled where he would be best, at the base of the midfield as a number six.
Appearances (starts)
26 (12)
37 (37)
Pass accuracy
83%
89%
Assists
0
4
Tackles + interceptions per game
1.5
3.4
Clearances per game
0.4
1.5
Ground duel success rate
47%
56%
Aerial duel success rate
42%
65%
As you can see in the table above, the Dutchman started all 37 of his appearances in the Premier League after being moved to a defensive midfield role, and his statistics show that it was a tactical move that paid off in a big way.
Gravenberch started all 49 of his appearances in the 2024/25 campaign for the Reds and earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year for his performances as a number six.
The 23-year-old star looks set to be a key player for Slot and Liverpool for many more years to come, after a strong start to the 2025/26 campaign with two goals and two assists so far, per Sofascore.
As well as having the man himself, Liverpool also have an impressive teenage central midfielder who has the potential to be a homegrown version of Gravenberch in the future.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
Trey Nyoni started in the middle of the park for the Reds against Championship side Southampton on Tuesday night and the contrast in his performance in the first half to the second half was akin to Gravenberch’s development throughout his career at Anfield.
Why Trey Nyoni may be Liverpool's next number eight
As an academy graduate who plays in central midfield, the 18-year-old star may have his eyes set on grabbing the number eight shirt from Dominik Szoboszlai in the future.
The Hungary international is the star who currently wears it, but it was academy graduate Steven Gerrard who really gave it meaning with his 186 goals in 710 matches for the club in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.
Nyoni has mainly donned the number eight shirt at youth level for Liverpool, which suggests that he is a fan of the number, and as a homegrown talent from the academy, he may want to emulate even a small percentage of what Gerrard achieved with the number eight shirt at Anfield.
Despite this, it is the number six position where Nyoni’s future may lie after what he showed on the pitch against Southampton in the League Cup on Tuesday night.
The England U19 international started the game as a number ten behind Alexander Isak, but did not look suited to playing that position. However, when Curtis Jones came off for Conor Bradley after 57 minutes, Nyoni dropped deeper and took control of the game.
Minutes
90
Pass accuracy
96%
Passes completed
43/45
Key passes
0
Duels won
2/4
Clearances
3
Blocks
1
Tackles + interceptions
3
Dribbled past per game
0x
As you can see in the table above, his statistics looked much more like what you would expect from a defensive midfielder than a number ten, playmaker, type.
Nyoni did not register any shots on target or create any chances for his team whilst playing as a number ten, but his defensive contributions and reliability as a passer when dropped into a deep-lying role proved that he has a future as a number six.
As Liverpool-focused writer Lewis Bower noted after the match, the 18-year-old talent looked far more “influential” when he dropped into a deeper midfield position, rather than as an attacking midfielder.
His metronomic passing in the middle of the park coupled with his defensive strength suggests that he may have the potential to develop into the next Gravenberch in the future, as he is five years younger than the Dutchman.
Gravenberch’s Liverpool career took lift-off after being moved from an attacking or central midfield position to being a number six. Nyoni’s attributes suggest that a similar positional change could forge a future for him in the first-team at Anfield.
That could, therefore, set him on his path to earn the number eight shirt at Liverpool, as he looks to follow in Gerrard’s footsteps from the academy to first-team fame.