Ryan Gravenberch picks unusual shirt number after joining Liverpool on Deadline Day

Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch inherited the vacant No. 38 shirt after joining the club on Deadline Day (September 1) from Bayern Munich.

Gravenberch had been linked with the Reds for months as they looked to rebuild their midfield this summer following the exits of Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner.

Liverpool acquired the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo but seemed determined to land one more player before Deadline Day.

After days of speculation, the Reds announced the signing of Ryan Gravenberch on a five-year deal, reported to be around a total of €45 million.

The Netherlands international inherited the No. 38 shirt, which was last worn by Jon Flanagan in 2018. Gravenberch has good reason for choosing such an unusual shirt number, as he wore it during his short spell at Bayern Munich, as well as during his time at Ajax.

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Jurgen Klopp gives his thoughts on Ryan Gravenberch joining Liverpool

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was delighted after Ryan Gravenberch was officially announced as a Red last night. The German tactician conveyed his thoughts to the club's media following the signing of the 21-year-old (via Liverpool's official website):

"Really happy to bring him in because he’s an exceptional talent. Everybody knows that. He is 21, played over 100 games for Ajax already. Had a, I wouldn’t even say difficult season at Bayern because in that age group it’s completely normal; you go into a world-class team and he had his minutes and stuff like this."

He added:

"But how Thomas Tuchel said today in the press conference in Munich I think, the position he is best at, they don’t really have in their system. We have that – that’s good. We have a lot of games to play. We will see how long he needs now because I don’t know, we need to have a look at that. He had a full pre-season, that’s good. The medical was as clear as it can be pretty much, looks really fit. That’s all positive."

He concluded:

"Unfortunately we have now an international break and cannot work directly together, he is I think with the U21s for Holland. But when he is back we start it. Very excited about it. He is a smart boy. When I talked to him I realised that pretty quickly. And he loves to be here, it’s a good thing as well."

Gravenberch made a name for himself at Ajax between 2018 and 2022, scoring 12 goals in 103 appearances. He proved he was an adept box-to-box midfielder with an eye for goal.

He made the move to Bayern Munich last summer but found game time hard to come under both Julian Nagelsmann and Thomas Tuchel, making just three Bundesliga starts.

While Gravenberch won't be featuring for Liverpool against Aston Villa on September 3, he will be looking forward to getting his career back on track with the Reds over the coming weeks.