There’s no getting away from the fact that Jude Bellingham would have been a great player for Liverpool.
Had the Reds been successful in their attempts to sign him last summer, maybe they’d have even won the Premier League.
In the end though, Bellingham turned Liverpool down to join Real Madrid. He has since gone on to dominate in La Liga, winning the title and scoring 19 goals along the way.
The 20-year-old also has a chance to play in his first Champions League final on Saturday, as Madrid take on Borussia Dortmund.
It’s hard to know whether Bellingham’s impact at Anfield would have been the same, but it feels like a relatively safe bet to say it would. Nevertheless, pundit Rafael van der Vaart has insisted that Liverpool have a player even better than the England international.
Liverpool told Ryan Gravenberch is superior to Jude Bellingham
After failing to land Bellingham last year, Liverpool instead brought in four different players.
It’s fair to say that that approach has been vindicated in the performances of all four. As Arne Slot prepares to arrive, Liverpool’s midfield is no longer a problem.
Of the quartet, Ryan Gravenberch was perhaps the player to make the least impact. After a bright start the 22-year-old trailed off a little.
Gravenberch clearly has a great deal of potential, though. Before he was even signed, Van der Vaart made the bold claim that the Dutchman was a better player than Bellingham [Liverpool ECHO].
Since then they’ve had quite contrasting seasons. Bellingham bagged 23 goals and shone at Madrid, while Gravenberch found the net just four times and didn’t quite get going.
But speaking to Voetbal International last week, Van der Vaart says that he sticks by his comparison.
“I didn’t expect him [Bellingham] to have such a good season at Real Madrid, but I stand by my comment at the time,” said the former Real Madrid midfielder.
“Bellingham is a great player, of course,” he added. “After all, one career is different from the other. For me, that doesn’t take anything away from Gravenberch’s enormous qualities.”
Ryan Gravenberch set to ignore transfer interest
We kind of understand what Van der Vaart is getting at here. The talent Gravenberch has is absolutely evident.
There’s possibly some weight to the argument that the Netherlands international is more naturally gifted than Bellingham.
However, it’s a big stretch to say he’s on the Real Madrid midfielder’s level right now.
Simply put, Liverpool need much more from Gravenberch. He didn’t have a bad season by any means, but it was a little underwhelming.
This has led to suggestions that the No.38 could be sold. On Wednesday it was reported that AC Milan have held talks with Gravenberch’s agent over a future move.
But to the former Ajax man’s credit, he has already put an end to rumours of an exit. He’s determined to slug it out and prove Van der Vaart right at Liverpool. Let’s hope he can.