Ryan Gravenberch must be Ajax’s worst kept secret! Ryan signed for Ajax at 8 years of age and I am pretty sure he has had headlines written about him ever since.
Ryan has developed into tall rangey central midfielder, who can play box to box or holding. Longer term he might be most valued in that deeper role passing and driving the ball out from the back.
He is excellent in his defensive work, he has a good football brain off the ball, and he is tough in the tackle. He has good explosive speed and when a club assess whether to make Ryan a big transfer target (because he won’t be a bargain buy!) then his ability to make the transition from defence to attack might be the thing they love the most. A big tackle, driving forward and delivering a key pass. This is how we see Ryan.
You might see that he sometimes holds onto the ball too long, his body language can be a little relaxed when he is not in the heat of battle, but I think that also reflex the Ajax style a little. Confident and calm on the ball, but not to everyone’s taste.
Ryan became Ajax’s youngest player to play in a league match, at 16 playing against PSV and beating Clarence Seedorf’s record. That’s not a bad person to follow in the footsteps of.
Ryan has played through the age groups for The Netherlands, being selected at 14 for the national camp, U15, U17, and at 16 playing for the 19s.
Lets see what Mino Raiola has planned for him…….