Ryan Gravenberch will break his career record of minutes in a single season if he starts against Tottenham on Sunday, with the physical toll “really tough” for him.
Gravenberch is 71 minutes away from recording his highest number of culmulative minutes on the pitch in a single campaign since his senior debut in 2018.
Prior to this season, the Dutchman’s career-best was in 2020/21 when, as an 18-year-old at Ajax, he clocked 3,946 minutes over 47 appearances in all competitions.
So far, with five games left to play in the Premier League, Gravenberch has played 3,876 this time around for Liverpool.
It is a stark change from his first season with the Reds, when he only clocked 1,839 minutes under Jurgen Klopp before being installed as one of Arne Slot‘s most important players.
Speaking to LFCTV after the 1-0 win over Leicester which extended his ever-present league run to 33 games – one of only 17 players across the Premier League to start every fixture so far – Gravenberch admitted it had been “really tough.”
“Still going strong!” he reflected.
“To be honest it’s really tough as well; last season I didn’t play a lot and now I’ve played almost every game. So it’s tough but I still keep going.”
How Gravenberch has “found the way through”
Gravenberch’s switch to the No. 6 role has been one of the revelations of the season for Liverpool, but the Dutchman has clearly become less effective as the campaign has worn on.
Much of that has come due to the sheer workload he has been trusted with, but also opponents becoming more familiar with Slot’s system and how to counteract it.
“Now I don’t get the ball that much. Now they know how we play and they want to close the middle,” Gravenberch admitted.
“It’s also a little bit more difficult for me, but I have to find the way through. That’s what I do.”
The 22-year-old noticeably dipped prior to the March international break with a series of tired performances, but having dropped out of contention with the Netherlands he has been more like himself in recent weeks.
That has shown with the last four games in a row being rated at least 7.2 by FotMob, having previously recorded a season-low 5.8 in the Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain and 6.5 in the Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle.
Despite playing 120 minutes against PSG, Gravenberch only registered 58 touches – fewer than 15 other players and less than half that of his PSG counterpart Vitinha (136).
In Liverpool’s first game after the March break – their 1-0 win over Everton – the midfielder made 102 touches, the most of any player, and then the second-most in their next game out against Fulham with 94.
While Gravenberch has again dropped to eighth and ninth with 62 and 64 touches against West Ham and Leicester respectively, there are clear signs that rest has helped him “find the way” again.
“When you play there you receive a lot of balls and that’s what I needed, to be in my comfort zone, break through the lines and open up play. I’m really happy with that,” he told LFCTV.
“Last season it was No. 8, sometimes No. 10. When the manager came in I had the conversation with him and he wanted to try me as a six.
“He put me out there 33 times [in the league so far], there’s a lot of trust in me.”
* FotMob is an essential app for every fan to keep up to date with their team or follow football worldwide, endless stats and features offer all you could ever want and never knew you needed!
You can download the FotMob App here.
