{"id":889175,"date":"2026-04-12T14:13:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T14:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/889175\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T14:13:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T14:13:24","slug":"former-ajax-player-explains-why-hed-always-pick-liverpools-ryan-gravenberch-over-frenkie-de-jong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/889175\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Ajax player explains why he’d always pick Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch over Frenkie De Jong"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Add as preferred source on Google <\/a> <\/p>\n

Ryan Gravenberch may be struggling to recapture his form of last season with Liverpool, but he has now received a significant vote of confidence from someone who knows him well. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Former Ajax defender Perr Schuurs<\/a> has lifted the lid on a debate in the Netherlands between Gravenberch<\/a> and Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong<\/a>, having shared a dressing room with both players in Amsterdam. <\/p>\n

While De Jong has gone on to establish himself as one of Europe\u2019s elite midfielders at Camp Nou, Schuurs has made it clear where his loyalties lie, explaining that Gravenberch\u2019s rare qualities as a tall yet technical midfielder mean the Liverpool<\/a> man comes out on top.<\/p>\n

Are Liverpool in danger of blocking Rio\u2019s pathway with a new signing this summer? <\/p>\n

Should they make a new signing after all?<\/p>\n

\"RioPhoto Credit: Getty Images\/Andy Buchanan\/AFP Schuurs backs Gravenberch over De Jong<\/p>\n

Schuurs didn\u2019t hesitate when asked to choose between the two midfielders on Dutch show Goedemorgen Eredivisie via Voetbalzone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cRyan Gravenberch,\u201d he answered. \u201cFriends often ask me: Gravenberch or Frenkie de Jong? For me, it\u2019s always been Ryan. His playing style, combined with his height, is rare. He\u2019s always decisive. I\u2019ve always thought he was very good.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s about 1.88 m, very technical, and he always checks behind him twice before receiving the ball. He was already like that six years ago. He really stood out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FCPhoto by Geert van Erven\/Orange Pictures\/BSR Agency\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

READ MORE: PSG will have had two clear takeaways after watching Liverpool beat Fulham, says Jason Cundy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s high praise given De Jong\u2019s pedigree, but Schuurs believes Gravenberch\u2019s technical ability is what really makes the Liverpool man stand out. <\/p>\n

His awareness, composure on the ball and ability to influence play were evident even in his teenage years at Ajax, and is something he has continued to hone with Liverpool.<\/p>\n

Who was Liverpool\u2019s best player during the much-needed win over Fulham? <\/p>\n

We think we might know the winner \ud83d\ude01<\/p>\n

\"LiverpoolPhoto by Carl Recine\/Getty Images Liverpool still need more consistency from Gravenberch<\/p>\n

While Schuurs\u2019 comments underline why Gravenberch is so highly regarded, Liverpool fans will know there is still more to come. After a brilliant season last year, expectations have naturally risen, but his performances have not always matched that same level in 2025\/26.<\/p>\n

There have been flashes of quality, and he has certainly added more goals to his game, which is a positive, but there have been periods where Gravenberch has drifted through matches rather than imposing himself. As Liverpool\u2019s deepest-lying midfielder, that has often led to the Reds\u2019 defence being exposed.<\/p>\n

Having recently signed a bumper new contract at Anfield, fans are right to demand a little more from their No. 38 than they are currently getting.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Gravenberch remains one of the Premier League\u2019s most technically gifted midfielders, and if he can rediscover the form which won him the division\u2019s Young Player of the Year last season, then comparisons to players like De Jong may not seem so bold after all.<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Add as preferred source on Google Ryan Gravenberch may be struggling to recapture his form of last season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":889176,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8815],"tags":[748,393,35479,4884,179,251193,12406,16,15],"class_list":["post-889175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-liverpool","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-frenkie-de-jong","tag-great-britain","tag-liverpool","tag-perr-schuurs","tag-ryan-gravenberch","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116392153106606979","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/889176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}