Ryan Gravenberch believes he has joined one of the biggest clubs in the world after sealing his £35million move to Liverpool.
The 21-year-old Netherlands midfielder has signed a long-term contract at Anfield after spending one season at Bayern Munich.
“I’m very happy. Very happy that the deal is done and I’m finally here,” Gravenberch told Liverpoolfc.com.
“If you see it from the outside, it’s one of the biggest clubs in the world. Also the fans, the stadium, I think everything from the outside is top. So that’s why (it was the right club).”
Revealing that he spoke to fellow Dutch players Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo ahead of his switch to Merseyside, Gravenberch added: “Yeah before the move I spoke a lot with the guys and they said we have a good team and everything is top here.
“Actually my decision was quick. I left his office (Jurgen Klopp) with a great feeling and I can’t wait to start working with him on the pitch.
Klopp is enthusiastic about his reinvented midfield and believes the club have done good business this summer.
The Liverpool manager was always planning to revamp that department of his team this summer but even he did not expect to change the whole unit, only for the departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho to Saudi Arabia to force him into a radical overhaul.
Argentina’s World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister and RB Leipzig’s Dominik Szoboszlai were early arrivals as part of the planned revamp.
But the addition of Wataru Endo and Gravenberch, who was a long-term target but was considered unavailable, came much later than expected after Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia both turned down a move to Anfield in favour of Chelsea.
“We pretty much had to reinvent the team. The midfield is all ready and will be completely new,” he said.
“We had to do that in a season where we didn’t qualify for the Champions League, which has a massive impact.
“I know people expect it to be different but it is how it is. I really think we did good business, the players we brought in are really good, will help the team.
“We are less experienced but that is normal, but we are full of desire and I love this team.”
Mac Allister, who was initially asked to play an unfamiliar holding role, and Szoboszlai have both settled in quickly, which was to be expected as they had a full pre-season to adapt to Klopp’s methods.
The manager expects them to make bigger strikes, although he conceded Endo will take longer after only arriving from Stuttgart mid-August, but believes they have the capability to match the successes of the players they have replaced.
“The natural skill-set is obvious but we had to replace the most successful midfield in the young (recent) history of this club,” added Klopp ahead of Sunday’s visit of Aston Villa.
“Fabinho, Henderson, Milner, Gini Wijnaldum a few years ago. All had big parts in the team. Naby (Keita), (Alex) Oxlade-Chamberlain, they all played big parts in that midfield.
“In our best periods I remember you asked me the question if we had enough of a goal threat from this midfield when we scored all the goals from the front line.
“I think we have much more goal threat in midfield now but the work-rate these guys put in, the stability they gave us was second-to-none and that is what we have to create as well.
“We will see how we do that because we can play different systems, we have to think about that during the season definitely.
“But I think it is clear the players we brought in have real quality, are young and in a super way really excited about the opportunity of being here, so that’s a cool mix.”
Celtic 3-1 RB Leipzig: Kuhn double inspires Hoops to Champions League fightback
Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn scored twice as the Bhoys fought back to clinch an impressive 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Coming off a goalless draw at Atalanta on matchday three, Celtic recorded their second home win in the Champions League this season, moving up to 13th in the standings on seven points.
They had to do things the hard way, falling behind to Christoph Baumgartner's close-range header after a corner came off Cameron Carter-Vickers in the 23rd minute.
However, Kuhn levelled in the 35th minute with a superb curling effort from the edge of the box, then tapped into an open net for his brace shortly before half-time.
Benjamin Sesko and Baumgartner went close to equalising after the break but Celtic's birthday boy, 38-year-old goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, pulled off a couple of fine saves before Reo Hatate sealed victory with a close-range finish in the 72nd minute.
Leipzig's wait for a first point in the Champions League this campaign continues, with their chances of reaching the knockout stages fading after four defeats in as many games.
Data Debrief: Celtic flying high
Celtic may have been humiliated in a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on matchday two, but that was a mere blip in what has so far been an impressive European campaign.
Their total of seven points is already their most in a Champions League campaign since 2012-13, when they collected 10, while they last netted more goals (currently nine) in a Champions League/European Cup campaign in 1977-78 (13).
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz: Malen late show extends Champions League home record
Donyell Malen netted an 85th minute winner to hand Borussia Dortmund a narrow 1-0 victory over winless Sturm Graz in the Champions League on Tuesday.
A dominant showing from Nuri Sahin's side made it three wins from four games so far in the competition, moving them up to fourth in the new 36-team league.
Dortmund started brightly at the Westfalenstadion but were unable to find a breakthrough, with Marcel Sabitzer, Maximilian Beier and Serhou Guirassy going close.
They recorded 13 shots in the first half, their most in the opening 45 minutes of a Champions League match without scoring since Opta recorded this data (since 2003-04).
But Sturm Graz offered a threat on the break after the interval, with Jusuf Gazibegovic curling an effort narrowly wide before Mika Biereth missed a header from close range.
However, Dortmund left it late to seal the win as Malen pounced on Emanuel Aiwu's loose pass before being sent through by Guirassy, with the Dutchman rattling the ball beyond
Kjell Scherpen to seal another Champions League home win.
Data Debrief: Home comforts
While Sahin has come under fire for Dortmund's displays away from home, there is no arguing with his record at the Westfalenstadion.
He became the first Dortmund coach since the Bundesliga was founded to win each of his first seven home matches in charge (all competitions), while BVB are now unbeaten in 13 consecutive Champions League home games (W9 D4) - an extended club record.
Malen’s winner was timed at 84:56, Dortmund’s latest winning goal in a Champions League match since Kevin Groskreutz netted against Marseille in December 2013.
Lille 1-1 Juventus: French side's resistance broken after second-half penalty
Lille held firm to hold Juventus to a 1-1 draw at home on Tuesday in the Champions League, extending their unbeaten run to nine matches.
Jonathan David had fired the French club ahead in the first half, before Dusan Vlahovic scored a second-half penalty to level things up and leave both sides on seven points after four matches.
Things didn't start well for the home side, with Teun Koopmeiners thinking he had scored the opener for Juventus only for it to be disallowed for offside.
David put Lille ahead just three minutes later with their first chance of note in the match. The Canadian turned home to convert from a slick counter-attacking move.
Goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier had to be on form to keep the home side ahead before half-time, sensationally saving a Vlahovic half-volley 10 minutes before the break. Koopmeiners, meanwhile, had another effort chalked off in the 42nd minute.
Juventus upped the pressure in the second half, with Chevalier also upping things and pulling off two impressive saves in quick succession.
But ultimately, the Lille resistance was broken by a Vlahovic penalty on the hour after Francisco Conceicao had been fouled by Benjamin Andre.
The result leaves Juventus 10th and Lille 12th in the Champions League table.
Data debrief: Lille looking good for qualification
After drawing 1-1, Lille are unbeaten in nine matches in all competitions and three matches in the Champions League.
The French side had beaten Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in back-to-back European games.
They now have a seven-point buffer between themselves and the bottom eight in the league table.
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