Ryan Gravenberch new contract: What does £87m Liverpool deal mean for the future of Reds midfield under Arne Slot?

In the summer of 2023, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool - under the watch of temporary sporting director Jorg Schmadtke - reconstructed a midfield that was no longer fit for purpose.

Fabinho and Jordan Henderson had struggled in 2022-23 before making moves to the Saudi Pro League, and the Reds recruited Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch to kickstart a new generation in the centre of the park.

The Merseysiders also agreed a deal with Brighton & Hove Albion to sign Moises Caicedo for £111m, but the Ecuadorian chose to join Chelsea instead.

Still lacking a 'number six' to complete the rebuild, Liverpool did not bring in a like-for-like alternative to Caicedo, but instead signed experienced Stuttgart star Wataru Endo as a stop-gap.

However, Gravenberch has been Arne Slot's number one choice in the position during his tenure so far, and here - after the Dutchman put pen to paper on a new six-year contract - Sports Mole takes a look at the future of Liverpool's midfield.

Why did Liverpool reward Ryan Gravenberch with a new contract?

Liverpool have announced that Gravenberch has inked a deal that will keep him at Anfield until the summer of 2032, and with a reported salary of approximately £280,000 per week, it is clear that the club view him as a major part of their plans going forward.

The 23-year-old initially struggled to adapt to the Premier League under Klopp after signing from Bayern Munich, making just 12 top-flight starts in 2023-24, and he was often the forgotten man given that the likes of Mac Allister and Szoboszlai had impressed immediately.

However, the number 38 found his feet with Slot at the helm, after the former Feyenoord boss opted to shift Gravenberch to the number six role that had been occupied by Mac Allister and Endo following a failed move for Martin Zubimendi in 2024.

Despite being a more advanced midfielder in his career prior, both at Liverpool as well as Bayern and Ajax, the Dutchman excelled enough in his new position to be awarded the Premier League's Young Player of the Season award on his way to winning the title in 2024-25.

Many now view Gravenberch as being on course to fulfill the obvious potential he showed at Ajax, and considering his importance to Slot, he has been rewarded with a new deal that not only boosts the his salary but wards off any potential suitors.

Who is likely to join Ryan Gravenberch in Liverpool's midfield going forward?

With that salary bump in mind, Gravenberch is unlikely to be dropped from the Reds XI any time soon, though there are several questions left to be answered about who should join him in midfield.

For example, Szoboszlai has become the main man in the centre of the park for Liverpool this season, notching 10 goals while providing 7 assists, and after the club spent £116m on Florian Wirtz in the summer, the German will need to feature alongside the duo.

However, that group is noticeably lacking defensive solidity, and lining up with such an unbalanced trio in the long-term could have disastrous consequences for a team that already concede an average of 1.34 goals per game, a figure that ranks eighth in the league so far in 2025-26.

This could hint at a system change in the coming months, an idea reinforced by the arrival of Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike in 2025, two strikers who will be demanding to start every game despite Slot currently deploying just one centre-forward.

Elsewhere, Curtis Jones has grown into one of the Premier League's best progressive passers this term, and tops the division for final third passes per 90 minutes, but he has continued to be linked with a transfer to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan.

Considering that Jones has less than 18 months remaining on his deal, a decision will have to be made in the summer about his future on Merseyside, and it was perhaps telling that his name was not mentioned in reports of other contract extensions in the pipeline.

Similarly, Mac Allister has been said to be attracting interest from continental giants such as Real Madrid, though contact has allegedly been made with his representatives about a renewal.

Do Liverpool need a natural number six? Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson transfer links analysed

With all that being said about Liverpool's current deepest-starting midfielder, the club have attempted to sign a more natural number six twice since Fabinho's departure at the end of 2022-23, but the Brazilian has yet to be directly replaced.

As a result, some have called for a new arrival to make the position their own once again this summer, and it is notable that the Reds have been linked to Adam Wharton and Elliot Anderson in recent months.

One of the purported main reasons for Slot's interest in Zubimendi was that the manager wanted a player that was comfortable receiving possession from the backline and playing to his more attacking teammates.

Keeping that in mind, while Gravenberch is a capable dribbler and ranks third in the Premier League in terms of progressive carry distance with 5,313m, he sits in the 55th percentile for midfielders in Europe's top seven leagues when it comes to progressive passes.

For comparison, Anderson boasts a similar progressive carry distance of 5,170m, and places third in the English top flight for total number of progressive carries with 508 - above Gravenberch in fourth - but he also ranks in the 95th percentile for progressive passes in the top seven leagues.

Likewise, Wharton is in the 91st percentile for progressive passes, though he is not quite as adept as Gravenberch or Anderson when it comes to dribbling, and sits way down in 94th place amongst Premier League players for progressive carries this term.

That being said, Wharton boasts a vastly superior capability when it comes to defensive actions, landing him in the 82nd percentile compared to midfielders in the top five leagues this term, a stark contrast to Anderson and Gravenberch's respective 56th and 53rd percentile rankings.

As a result, it is clear to see how signing either the Crystal Palace man or Nottingham Forest star could compliment the Dutchman by supplementing his passing numbers if, as indicated by his new contract, he is to continue as a central figure in Liverpool's midfield.