Steve Nicol did not hold back in his criticism of Ryan Gravenberch after Liverpool edged the first-leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Fulham on Wednesday.
Ryan Gravenberch had an opportunity to impress as the Reds looked to put one foot in the final at Wembley, where they will face either Middlesbrough or Chelsea.
Liverpool do have the advantage going into the second-leg. But with the tie taking place at Craven Cottage, you could argue that the 2-1 scoreline leaves the contest perfectly poised.
Ryan Gravenberch criticised for display in Liverpool win
Unfortunately, a number of players failed to impress. And speaking on ESPN, Steve Nicol clearly felt that Gravenberch was well below par before he was taken off 11 minutes into the second-half.
“I spoke about Gravenberch before the game, and I thought, quite frankly, he was awful and did absolutely nothing to push Klopp into starting him anytime soon,” he said.
“I haven’t [seen anything since he signed]. I don’t remember any significant difference when he’s on the field. I don’t remember any assists. I certainly don’t remember if he’s got a goal. I don’t remember anything about him. And today, well, he did today what he’s been doing in my opinion, not a lot.”
Midfielder was always going to need time to settle – and still has huge potential
Liverpool fans would have always known that Gravenberch would need time following his £35 million move to Anfield in the summer.
He was arriving off the back of a tough time at Bayern Munich where he really struggled for minutes. He has already got more minutes under his belt in the Premier League this season than he did across the entire Bundesliga campaign last year. And yet, he has still not completed 90 minutes in any competition so far this season.
And it is easy to forget that Gravenberch is still only 21, and does not turn 22 until May. He is little more than a year older than Conor Bradley.
Gravenberch has shown glimpses of his quality for Liverpool. And Jürgen Klopp will remain optimistic that he will come good at some stage.
But clearly, he has some doubters to silence over the coming years.
