'I've seen Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool signing emerge as the next Patrick Vieira'

Ryan Gravenberch has been likened to Patrick Vieira after his brilliant start to the new season with Liverpool.

The Dutch midfielder joined Liverpool from Ajax in 2023, and after a transitional season under Jurgen Klopp, has really shone under new Anfield boss Arne Slot, starting in all six of Liverpool's games in all competitions, of which the Reds have won five.

Gravenberch was excellent once again in the win over Bournemouth on Saturday, and his performance prompted Premier League-winning former midfielder Tim Sherwood to make comparisons between the Dutchman and Arsenal legend Vieira.

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“He looks like a defensive-minded, responsible footballer, I think he has all of the attributes to play that number six role. It looks like he owns the pitch. You talk about breaking lines with a pass, he breaks lines with movement,” Sherwood said.

“He has the whole package, when he needs to break it up he does, he controls the tempo of the game. Look at that, that is Patrick Vieira that. A big boy, six foot three, they’ve stumbled upon a defensive midfield player who is enjoying the role, I think they have a wonderful midfield. You see those midfield players costing £100m-£90m ($134m-$120m)over the years, he was relatively cheap.”

Gravenberch has excelled in the No.6 position having being asked to play there after Liverpool missed out on primary midfield transfer target Martin Zubimendi during the summer window.

Zubimendi was earmarked to play in that position, but, although the season is still young, the Spaniard's decision to turn down a move to Anfield could well turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Slot's men.

Reports emerged last week that Zubimendi was regretting his decision to stay at Real Sociedad, but those reports appear to have stemmed from a notoriously unreliable Twitter user.

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano clarified the situation on The Debrief podcast. Romano said: “At this moment, they don’t have any indication at Liverpool that he (Zubimendi) is going to change his mind or that he’s going to discuss with Real Sociedad to change the story in January."