Ryan Gravenberch makes sentimental choice as he picks Liverpool shirt number after £34m transfer
Ryan Gravenberch’s Liverpool shirt number has been confirmed after he completed a £34million transfer from Bayern Munich.
The Reds completed the transfer deadline day move with not much time left before the summer window slammed shut, having sought midfield reinforcements for several weeks.
Ajax academy graduate Gravenberch will don the No38 shirt an Anfield.
Plenty of shirt numbers were available to the 21-year-old, the highest of which being the No12 vacated by Joe Gomez over the summer.
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Traditional midfield options No14, No15 and No16 were also up for grabs and there was a big gap between No22 and No 31 - last worn by Raheem Sterling - that only Andy Robertson occupies at No26.
However, a sentimental option was also there for Gravenberch. He wore the No38 shirt during his early days in the Ajax first-team and took that number at Bayern too, with his more regular Ajax No8 not available at either Munich or Anfield.
“I’m really looking forward to [being at Anfield] and I can’t wait to hear the You’ll Never Walk Alone song,” he told the Liverpool website.
“Now we start fresh again, a new start, and I’m going to give my all for this club. [My ambitions are] to win prizes. To win prizes, play a lot and show them who we are and who I am.”