Erik ten Hag has not only breathed fresh life into a Manchester United side who spent much of last season death-rattling their way to their worst ever Premier League points total, he has also done wonders for the reputation of the Eredivisie on this side of the Channel.
For so long, splashing out on even the biggest stars from the Dutch top flight was seen as a risky move. For every Ruud van Nistelrooy, there was a Donny van de Beek after all. On one hand, Luis Suarez. On the other, Mateja Kezman.
There were understandable concerns, then, when Ten Hag invested around £150 million in Antony, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia last summer. With all three impressing during their debut seasons at Old Trafford, however – defying the doubters along the way – it’s safe to say the former Ajax boss has probably earned himself the benefit of the doubt as Man United cast their eye over the likes of Orkun Kokcu, Santiago Gimenez, Jurrien Timber and Ryan Gravenberch.
Manchester United like Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch
Gravenberch, according to 90Min and Foot Mercato, is on Ten Hag’s hit-list as the playmaker weighs up his future at Bayern Munich. A two-time Eredivisie champion under Ten Hag at Ajax; the Dutch international has started only one Bundesliga game since his £21 million move to Bayern a year ago.
But, as Marcel Sabitzer will tell you, there is no shame in failing to force your way into a Bayern engine room containing Leon Goretkza and the imperious Joshua Kimmich.
Gravenberch, like Antony and Martinez, is a player Ten Hag knows, trusts and admires.
That admiration, meanwhile, is a two-way street. It goes both ways.
“I’m glad I had him (Ten Hag) as a trainer,” Gravenberch said a few months ago, via FCUpdate. “He especially taught me to keep calm.
“When I just got to the first team, I really wanted to make minutes, but he said; ‘That will come. First, become reliable. Then you will start making minutes’.
“In the end, that’s how it went.”
A reunion between player and coach at Old Trafford, then, may be exactly what Gravenberch needs; his stalling career in need of a jump-start.
Erik ten Hag loves Gravenberch
Former Ajax youth coach Brian Tevreden sees similarities between 20-year-old Gravenberch and a man who, for all his faults, was never really given a platform upon which to fulfil his vast potential at Old Trafford.
“Physically, he’s tall and very strong,” Tevreden tells Goal. “But technically, I would say he’s a better version of (Paul) Pogba in his best days at Juventus. In terms of his technique and his presence on the pitch.
“He’s very dominant like Pogba was. That’s what I see in Ryan.”
The very definition of ‘good touch for a big man’; Gravenberch belies his rangy 6ft 3ins frame with a velvet touch and a smoothness of movement. Lining up on the left-hand side of Ten Hag’s midfield trio at Ajax, Gravenberch’s press-resistant talents and ball-progressing ability proved integral to the Dutchman’s possession-heavy system. The then-teenager even scored five goals while setting up six more during his breakthrough campaign in 2020/21.
If Gravenberch can rediscover that form at Manchester United, following in the footsteps of Antony, Malacia, Martinez and Ten Hag himself, perhaps you will no longer hear Eredivisie imports being discussed in such disparaging terms on English soil.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
