Gravenberch exposed by Carragher and Liverpool ‘desperation’ for £53m Real Madrid star | OneFootball

Liverpool being ‘desperate’ to sign a player in the mould of Eduardo Camavinga, if not the Real Madrid man himself, whom Arne Slot has reportedly ‘identified as a key target’, may well have finally exposed a Reds star who’s somehow avoided criticism as one of those players Jamie Carragher suggested was “carried” through their title-winning campaign.

, Liverpool are ‘expected to table a €60m [£53m] bid’ for Camavinga, who’s started just five games for Madrid this season as Xabi Alonso’s desire for a player with his own more cultured set of midfield skills has been widely reported.

The report claims Arne Slot has ‘identified the 23-year-old as a key target’ as he looks to revamp his midfield, which now looks as lethargic and disjointed as it did dynamic and solid as they trotted to the Premier League title last term.

Spanish outlet E-Noticies has also reported that the Premier League champions are exploring the market for new midfielders, as Liverpool are ‘desperately’ searching for a ‘physical and dominant’ figure like Camavinga to add some much-needed grit and energy in the middle of the park.

Alexis Mac Allister has been heavily criticised for his incredibly laboured performances after cruising through games last season. Dominik Szoboszlai has avoided criticism as arguably been Liverpool’s best player who’s frequently been used out of position.

But far more strangely, inexplicably even, Ryan Gravenberch has avoided criticism for what has been a stunning downturn in his displays, which goes a long way to explaining this sudden ‘desperation’ to source an alternative option in his position.

He was praised as much as any Liverpool player last season, with Slot similarly hailed for dropping him into a defensive midfield position he looked born to play. The half-turns, the sweeping up, the vision from deep, it was all great.

The debate at the start of this season wasn’t Moises Caicedo vs Declan Rice, but Caicedo vs Rice vs Gravenberch. There’s not one single right-minded soul who would pick the Liverpool star over the alternatives now. Anyone even mentioning Gravenberch would be laughed out of the room.

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Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have taken more than their fair share of the blame for Liverpool’s slump as the players to have fallen from the greatest heights. After they were both notably terrible in the 4-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven, Carragher asked “where are the others?”

“I look at some of the others…step up…can you only play well when they play well?” Carragher said. “Their seasons last season were off the scale and everyone else enjoyed that, winning the league, they’re all league champions, they’ve got that on their CV, but when they’re not there, where are they, where are the others?

“I actually think and maybe I thought this a little bit last season – are some of them good enough if Liverpool want to win the biggest trophies? You saw against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup (final), you saw against PSG away from home last season, woeful performances, and they’ve been carried by some of the greatest players the club have ever had.”

Gravenberch, after one good season, a few good games at the start of this campaign and then some very limp, uninspired midfield displays since, is now ‘carried’ while counterparts Rice and Caicedo (red card misstep aside) continue to do the carrying, and apparently that’s not gone unnoticed by Slot and whoever else at Liverpool is pushing for Camavinga as an upgrade.