Ryan Gravenberch has proven to be the perfect welcoming gift for Arne Slot at Liverpool.
The Netherlands international has been reborn in the No. 6 role at Anfield, developing his defensive work to be the lynchpin in the Reds' midfield trio behind Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Gravenberch was signed from Bayern Munich for £34million as a creative player whilst Jorg Schmadtke was operating as sporting director at Anfield, but his willingness to adapt has made him the ideal fit into Slot's system.
The ex-Ajax star has received high praise so far this season, and Liverpool legend Mark Lawrenson is the latest to heap praise on the playmaker. He told SportingCasting: "I don't just think Ryan Gravenberch is Liverpool's Gini Wijnaldum replacement - I think he's better than him.
"Don't get me wrong, Wijnaldum was a really good player for Liverpool under Jürgen Klopp, but I think Gravenberch has got a little burst of pace and more attacking qualities that Gini didn't have.
"I don't know whether it's a coincidence or not, but Arne Slot knows all about him for obvious reasons, and he seems to have pushed the correct buttons to get him going this season.
"He looks a really classy player at the moment and compliments Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai really well.
"All three midfielders have started the campaign very promisingly, which is great to see. I don't think there's a better midfield trio in the league at the moment."
Schmadtke splashed the cash during his time on Merseyside, orchestrating a major rebuild of Liverpool's midfield following the departures of several veteran stars, such as James Milner and Jordan Henderson. Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Mac Allister and Wataru Endo arrived to breathe a new lease of life into the department, and Jurgen Klopp was very pleased with the quartet of arrivals.
Speaking about his time working with the former Liverpool manager, Schmadtke told Die Zeit: "Unlike the clubs in Germany, in Liverpool I was responsible for the transfers, but I mainly worked with Jurgen. I stopped everyone from knocking on his door. I no longer wanted to be part of the change process that began with the new coach."
And Schmadtke's signing of Gravenberch for Klopp has turned out to be a massive blessing for Slot, who is getting the very best out of Gravenberch at Anfield.
