“Take that last step” – Father of Liverpool target advises his son to stay put in the Eredivisie

Transfer News: Ryan Gravenberch should stay at Ajax, says father amid Liver links

Speaking to Ajax Showtime (h/t Mirror), Ryan Gravenberch senior advised his son not to be swayed by a move away from Ajax amid transfer links to Liverpool.

The report mentions that Gravenberch was being lined up as a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum. The Dutch midfielder is in the final few weeks of his contract and is yet to renew.

A free summer transfer is looking for Wijnaldum and Liverpool would need to plug that hole in midfield if that does happen. Gravenberch, on the other hand, has had a great season in the Netherlands.

The youngster has 3 goals and 5 assists from his 29 Eredivisie games so far. The 18-year-old is adept at playing at central midfield but can also be used as a defensive midfielder. (h/t Transfermarkt

Gravenberch off?

However, his father wants his son to stay at Ajax next season as he believes it will give him the time to develop and hone his skills further without a lot of pressure on him.

“He has to take that last step at Ajax. He just has to and he hasn’t done that yet. I want him to fully mature at Ajax, so as far as I’m concerned he will just stay at Ajax. He has only played one full season now and that was of course quite good, but next season he will have to play even better.”

Gravenberch senior went on to add that he will not force his son to stay in Holland. However, he says that the midfielder himself thinks it is in his best interest to stay in Amsterdam for now.

“I’m not going to push him to do that, that makes no sense to Ryan. But he also realizes that. He also thinks it is best for him to stay at Ajax.”

That seems like the end of the line for Liverpool in Gravenberch pursuit unless something drastic happens. And his father is not wrong in making those comments.

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It is unlikely that the teenager will be a starter at Liverpool straight away. Hence, it is better for the youngster to stay put at where he is now and focus on his development.