Former Netherlands star hails Liverpool boss Arne Slot for getting Ryan Gravenberch 'back to his best' - as he claims the Dutch now have a 'fantastic midfielder' on their hands

Former Netherlands star Rafael van der Vaart has heaped praise on Liverpool boss Arne Slot for the impact he has had on Ryan Gravenberch.

Gravenberch, 22, has always been a highly rated midfielder but found his career stall slightly following a disappointing season at Bayern Munich in 2022-23 after leaving Ajax.

He moved on to Liverpool for £35million last year, but failed to nail down a regular place at Anfield as he started just 12 Premier League games.

However, under new boss Arne Slot, a fellow Dutchman, Gravenberch has proven to be a revelation at the start of the campaign, where he has played in a deeper role at the base of midfield.

The 22-year-old took that form into international duty over the past week, impressing as the Netherlands drew 2-2 with Germany, while they also beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-2 on Saturday night.

And, after the clash with Germany, former Dutch favourite Van der Vaart - who won 109 caps for the Oranje between 2001 and 2013 - hailed Gravenberch and credited Slot with finally helping the midfielder to realise his potential. 

'Ryan Gravenberch?' he said. 'We have got a fantastic midfielder for our country.

'Arne Slot brought him back to his highest level and his potential is fully coming out. 

'The first 60 minutes he was by far the best player on the pitch.'

Gravenberch assisted Tijjani Reijnders's second-minute strike against Julian Nagelsmann's side and played the full 90 minutes of both of the Netherlands' games in recent days.

The 22-year-old's renaissance at international level comes after things have not always been easy for the former Ajax academy product, with Dutch boss Ronald Koeman having been critical of him on more than one occasion.

Last year, Gravenberch dropped out of Under 21s duty to focus on his fitness, which infuriated Koeman, while he also failed to give the Liverpool star a single minute at Euro 2024. 

Speaking last week, Koeman was similarly keen to put a lid on all of the praise Gravenberch had been receiving. 

The former Everton and Southampton boss responded to one journalist's glowing praise for the defensive midfielder by saying: 'I am glad you added that last part. I have always seen the potential in him. 

'But I believed he lacked focus, this is something that he had to improve and now it seems that he finally realises what is asked of him.'

The midfielder's lack of 'focus' has clearly been a sticking point for Koeman with the talent playing just 86 minutes under the manager since he returned to the role for a second spell in January 2023.

Meanwhile, speaking last week, Gravenberch opened up on his improvements under Slot over recent months.  

'There were sometimes matches in which I had only touched the ball once after five or six minutes,' he told SoccerNews.nl. 'Then you don't get into your game.

'Now I get the ball more, then you get more comfortable. He just saw this. In the end it worked out well.

'Now it's going well, so, yes, everyone is praising him [Slot].'