A DUTCH football legend has urged a Liverpool player to make a surprise positional change under new boss Arne Slot.
This player and his team-mates are preparing for a whole new era on Merseyside after Jurgen Klopp’s departure as manager.
The German bid an emotional farewell to Liverpool after the 2-0 win over Wolves last week and will be replaced by Dutchman Slot.
Popular duo Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara are also leaving the club along with Klopp’s staff.
Mo Salah has shown that he is ready for the big change by undertaking a major one himself regarding his hairstyle.
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However, former Tottenham and Real Madrid attacker Rafael van der Vaart, 41, feels another Red should look to make a huge transformation - only this time on the pitch.
Ryan Gravenberch, 22, joined Liverpool from Bayern Munich for £40m last summer but has endured a mixed first campaign.
He played 38 appearances, 21 of them being starts, but scored just four times and provided two assists in that period from his usual position of No.8 under Klopp.
Now Van der Vaart wants to see him move from being behind the front three and suggested that he instead drops back to a deeper position in order to change his fortunes.
And he highlighted their Dutch compatriot Nigel de Jong, who played there for Man City, and Arsenal legend Patrick Viera as two examples for him to follow.
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Speaking to Dutch outlet Voetbal International, Van Der Vaart said: “I advise Ryan to opt for a role as a defensive midfielder.
“That will not be an easy choice for him, because he can do much more. You can compare it with Nigel de Jong in the past.
“Nigel could do much more than the subservient controller he eventually became.
“But in that specific role he reached an absolute top level.
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“Nigel decided he was going to be a pit bull and that’s it.
“Ryan is also very versatile and I recommend him to make a similar choice.
“In a role like Patrick Vieira once played at Arsenal and France.”
Gravenberch recently discussed his first year at Anfield and says he was happy after getting more game time than he had done at Bayern.
He said: “That's why I'm satisfied with my season at Liverpool. I wanted to make more minutes and I succeeded.
“I have played good matches, but also lesser ones. No, I'm not as tired as I am after a season where you've played everything.
“I haven't played everything. Can that freshness be an advantage? Well, I'm ready if you ask me. Anyway, first let's be part of the final selection.”
