Ryan Gravenberch: Liverpool agree £34.2m deal to sign Bayern Munich midfielder
Liverpool agreed fee in region of €40m (£34.2m) to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch; the midfielder will sign a five-year-deal at Anfield and is flying to Merseyside on Thursday night to complete the deal
Friday 1 September 2023 21:48, UK
Liverpool have agreed a fee in the region of €40m (£34.2m) to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Ryan Gravenberch.
The midfielder is set to sign a five-year deal with Jurgen Klopp's side and will fly to Liverpool on Thursday evening to complete the transfer, with a medical pencilled in for Friday.
Gravenberch was not involved in Bayern training on Thursday as he hoped to get the green light to complete the move to Liverpool.
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Bayern wanted to recoup the £20m fee inclusive of add-ons they spent on recruiting Gravenberch from Ajax, plus make a profit. Ajax are understood to have a 7.5 per cent sell-on clause in this deal.
Bayern, who are keen on Fulham's Joao Palhinha, wanted to source a replacement before sanctioning Gravenberch's departure.
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Gravenberch is desperate for the opportunity to steer his development back on track after being starved of minutes in Munich.
As revealed by Sky Sports News last summer, Liverpool's interest in Gravenberch is long-standing. He was on a shortlist of three options before opting to move to Bayern from Ajax.
Meetings with the player's representative, Jose Fortes Rodriguez from Raiola, have been regular since last year.
Gravenberch has been part of Liverpool's thinking all summer, but the club had other priorities and Bayern had not initially been open to a sale.
Once Liverpool lost out on Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia to Chelsea, they resumed trying to make a deal for Gravenberch work.
With Liverpool set to complete the deal, Sky Sports News was told on Thursday that Manchester United have not ended their interest in Gravenberch.
Erik ten Hag, who promoted the multi-functional midfielder to the first team and extracted the best from him at Ajax, has been trying to sign him since the winter window.
United made a check on Gravenberch's availability in January, but were blocked by Bayern, and ended up loaning Marcel Sabitzer instead.
United are also currently trying to reach an agreement with Fiorentina for Sofyan Amrabat. The club, conscious of complying with Financial Fair Play regulations, want a loan deal while the Serie A side prefer a permanent transfer.
Carragher: I'm not sure Gravenberch is what Liverpool need
Sky Sports' Jamie Carragher:
"It's interesting where he is going to fit in because I don't think he's necessarily this defensive midfield player that I think Liverpool still need, even though they have brought a player in from Germany.
"I think he's more of a No 8, he's box-to-box, he gets forward - and I think that's why Bayern got rid of him, because Thomas Tuchel didn't want to play him in that position.
"He's a player Jurgen Klopp and the club wanted 12-18 months ago and I'm interested to see where he fits in and if Klopp thinks he's going to be that defensive midfield player.
"He's young, has good pedigree - having played for Ajax and Bayern - and, to be fair, the fee is not that expensive."
'Gravenberch's potential is huge'
European football expert Andy Brassell speaking to Sky Sports News:
"It is a good bit of business. The potential there is huge - and Liverpool need the numbers if you look at the amount of midfielders Liverpool lost this summer.
"There is now real potential in the midfield three of Wataru Endo, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister, but it cannot sustain them for 60 games this season, they need more.
"Gravenberch does not expect to start every game, but he expects an opportunity - which he didn't get at Bayern Munich.
"There were successive coaches in Julian Nagelsmann - as he was the club's signing not the coaches' signing - and Thomas Tuchel who haven't warmed to him."
