Ryan Gravenberch's first season at FC Bayern was not easy. His former coach is now apparently eyeing the dissatisfied Dutchman.
Munich – FC Bayern player Ryan Gravenberch was in the starting line-up for his team's away game in Bremen on the penultimate matchday – but only for the second time this Bundesliga season. On Saturday, the Dutchman, who had already indicated his dissatisfaction on several occasions, sat on the substitutes' bench as usual against Schalke. Apparently, several clubs are watching the Munich summer signing, his ex-coach Erik ten Hag apparently wants a reunion with his former player.
| Ryan Gravenberch | |
|---|---|
| Born:\t \t \t \t | 16 May 2002 in Amsterdam (Netherlands) |
| Position: | Central midfield |
| Contract with FC Bayern until: | August 30th 2027 |
| Internationals: | 11 for the Netherlands (1 goal) |
Ryan Gravenberch has only been in FC Bayern's Bundesliga starting line-up twice
With high expectations, Gravenberch moved from Ajax Amsterdam to FC Bayern in the summer, who spent 18.5 million euros to sign the central midfielder. However, the eleven-time international has not really arrived after almost a season, usually he only comes off the bench as a substitute. So far, he has not been able to threaten his competitors in his position, Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich.
Gravenberch, who is considered one of the most promising players in Europe despite his limited playing time, was only allowed to play in two group games in the Champions League, and he was also in the starting line-up in the first round of the cup. Otherwise, however, it is mostly a matter of watching, in 31 games in all competitions, the 20-year-old has a sobering total of 845 minutes played.
Even under Thomas Tuchel, Ryan Gravenberch is only a substitute
Even under Thomas Tuchel, not much has changed in his role, the coach relies - with the exception in Bremen, when Goretzka was suspended - on the regulars from the German national team. So it's no wonder that Gravenberch wasn't exactly happy about his role as a reservist. "I haven't spoken to the club's management yet, so we'll just wait and see what happens," he told Voetbal International about his future, adding: "But it's clear that this role doesn't meet my expectations."
In an interview with the portal Ajax Showtime, he also expressed himself combatively, but let it be known that he does not want to sit on the substitutes' bench for another entire season. "Ideally, I'd like to be successful at Bayern. But if that doesn't work out and I don't get a chance, then maybe I'll have to look around," the Amsterdam native was quoted as saying.
Ryan Gravenberch has only been in the starting line-up twice during the current Bundesliga season. © H. Langer/imago
Erik ten Hag and Ryan Gravenberch had a successful time – Manchester United as a transfer option?
But where could Gravenberch move to, should he want to finish the project in Munich? Liverpool FC had been repeatedly linked to the professional in recent weeks, as Bild reports with reference to the portal Football Insider, Manchester United, the next Premier League club, is said to have knocked. This could be mainly due to head coach Erik ten Hag, who knows Gravenberch very well.
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Ten Hag, who was in charge of Ajax as coach from December 2017 to the summer of 2022, was one of the promoters of the midfield gem. At the age of 16, Gravenberch made his debut in the first division under ten Hag and three days later in the Dutch Cup. He also played his first Europa League game at the age of 17 under the former Ajax coach, and his first Champions League game at the age of 18 also took place under the eyes of the current Manchester United coach. Together they celebrated three league titles and two cup victories before both left the capital club.
Gravenberch transfer unlikely – long-term contract in Munich
Players and coaches know each other from over 100 competitive matches together, but this is by no means a guarantee of success for the future. Gravenberch's long contract in Munich – Bayern secured his services until 2027 – also clearly speaks against a move. Gravenberch wants to "wait" for his chance and "really play week after week again," as he affirmed in an interview with Voetbal International. Again, this declaration of war does not necessarily sound like an escape in the summer.
Although Gravenberch will have a tough competitor in Konrad Laimer in the coming transfer period, he should not have a worse chance of playing an important role in the team in his second year than the RB Leipzig winner. So it remains to be seen how he will deal with the situation. In view of the fast pace of the business, a transfer is not completely ruled out. The change of coach at FC Bayern had recently shown that anything is possible in football. (ajr)