Ryan Gravenberch netted his first goal for Liverpool just before half-time in tonight’s Europa League clash against Union Saint-Gilloise, but it’s by no means his first meaningful contribution in a red shirt.
The 21-year-old had already provided two assists since his deadline day move from Bayern Munich five weeks ago, both of which came in his previous starts for the Reds against LASK and Leicester.
As noted by Theo Squires on X, the Dutchman wasted little time in equalling the goal contributions tally of one of his midfield predecessors from the entirety of last season.
The journalist posted: “In just three starts for #LFC, Ryan Gravenberch has equalled the total goal contributions Jordan Henderson produced from 43 appearances in his final season at Anfield.”
In just three starts for #LFC, Ryan Gravenberch has equalled the total goal contributions Jordan Henderson produced from 43 appearances in his final season at Anfield.
🇳🇱 1⃣⚽️2⃣🅰️
🏴 0⃣ ⚽️3⃣🅰️#LFC #LIVUSG 🔗https://t.co/TK0EgUhdh1 pic.twitter.com/VizO3kluOU— Theo Squires (@TheoSquiresECHO) October 5, 2023
READ MORE: (Video) Ryan Gravenberch nets first Liverpool goal after Union SG keeper’s horror moment
Prior to tonight, Gravenberch had played just 162 minutes for Liverpool (Transfermarkt), a tally which reached 206 by the time he found the net against Union SG.
That’s still less than 10% of the 2,558 that Henderson played in his final season at Anfield, with the Englishman claiming three assists and failing to find the net at all in 2022/23 (Transfermarkt).
VOTE for Empire of the Kop as Best Club Content Creator (Premier League) here: Football Content Awards OR on X with Empire’s one-click X link with: I am voting in @The_FCAs for @empireofthekop in Best Club Content Creator (Premier League)
One of the biggest criticism of the Reds’ midfield last term was the glaring lack of scoring impact, with Harvey Elliott the only player in that area of the pitch to net more than three times, ending the campaign with five goals (Transfermarkt).
The early signs from Gravenberch are that he could easily match or surpass the 20-year-old’s tally in his first season for Liverpool, especially if he shows the same goalscoring instincts which enabled him to latch onto the loose ball for his opener tonight.
Having already matched Henderson’s goal contributions tally from 2022/23, the Dutchman looks like quite the upgrade in the middle of the park!
#Ep93 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Steve Kay🎙️