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Tom Hamilton, Senior WriterSep 6, 2024, 07:33 AM ET
- • Joined ESPN in 2011
• Covered two Olympics, a pair of Rugby World Cups and two British & Irish Lions tours
• Previously rugby editor, and became senior writer in 2018
Ryan Gravenberch has said the clarity Arne Slot gives to his role in the Liverpool team and the confidence he gets from the manager has helped him make a brilliant start to the new season.
Gravenberch has started all three of Liverpool’s Premier League matches so far. They are three from three, including a comfortable 3-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday. Gravenberch has been starting in the No. 6 role, dovetailing with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
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His form has drawn praise from several pundits, and Gravenberch is looking to take that form into Netherlands duty.
“I just feel good in my skin, to be honest,” Gravenberch told ESPN Netherlands. “But does that have a reason? Yeah, things are going well at the club. I’m just doing my thing, and it’s working out well now.”
When asked whether Slot has had a role in that, Gravenberch said: “He gives me confidence now. He just lets me start in the lineup. It’s going pretty well.
“As a player, you obviously want to get minutes. For me, that confidence is part of it. With that confidence, I feel more comfortable, and with the minutes, it keeps getting better.
Gravenberch added: “He’s a good coach. He knows what he wants. He has a clear plan. Yeah, so far, we’re executing it really well. Clarity from the start is always nice for me.”
Gravenberch said he had this positive form in him last year, but it was not enough to impress for the Netherlands in last summer’s European Championships. Gravenberch was part of the squad, but he did not get any minutes at the tournament. That frustration stayed with him in the off-season.
“It did gnaw at me a little,” he said. “Because, when you go to the Euros, of course, you want to play. But in the end, we have to move on. The Euros are in the past. And now we’re here.”
“Life goes on,” he added. “The Euros are over, and now we have to focus on the Nations League. And in two years, there’s the World Cup again.”
He said he “cleared [his] head” on holiday and is hoping to show what he’s capable of for the Netherlands in their forthcoming matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany in the Nations League. He says he will aim to do that by “showing myself in training, and ultimately, when the coach gives me minutes, also in the matches.”
