Liverpool have been the fourth oldest team in the Premier League on average in 2021/22, with the XI they fielded against Aston Villa the 14 th oldest seen in the division this season.
Four of the players who faced Steven Gerrard’s side were in their thirties, another three were 29 years old and only Trent Alexander-Arnold will be under 28 when this campaign ends in May.
Michael Edwards’ successor as sporting director, Julian Ward, will have something of a rebuilding job to contend with both this summer and beyond.
The future of the midfield is looking bright, with Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott and Tyler Morton all developing nicely.
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But further fresh blood will be required soon enough and there are reasons to see why a recent rumour may be based within reality.
Marca have reported that Real Madrid are looking to sign Ajax midfielder Ryan Gravenberch - valued at £40m - but that they may face competition from the Reds if they are to do so.
The 19-year-old, who has 18 months remaining on his contract, already has 10 caps for Netherlands and has featured alongside the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum so will have no doubt heard plenty about life at Liverpool.
And in the opinion of Statsbomb’s data on FBRef, Gravenberch shares similarities with one of Jurgen Klopp’s existing central options.
Jordan Henderson is among the 10 midfielders to whom the Ajax teenager is most alike.
However, due to the latter only having advanced data from the Champions League and not the Eredivisie, the small sample means the comparison should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Nonetheless, their expected assist averages per 90 are just 0.01 apart and there’s only 0.21 between them when it comes to progressive passes (those which advance the ball at least 10 yards towards the opposition’s goal or into their penalty area).
While the players obviously don’t match up across the board, Gravenberch has some other impressive looking strengths.
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He’s in the top seven percent of midfielders for completing dribbles and progressive carries. Indeed, only one player with at least 1,000 minutes in Dutch football (Luis Sinisterra) has completed more take-ons per 90 minutes so far in 2021/22.
These abilities are all too clear in any highlight reel you care to watch. Gravenberch is adept at receiving the ball with his back to goal in the centre of the pitch, then spinning past his marker and advancing up field.
While not the fastest, his height and strength mean he is hard to dispossess – only having the ball stolen by an opponent once per 90 minutes on average – and he is very strong in 50/50 situations.
Only six players who’ve attempted at least as many aerial duels as Gravenberch in the Eredivisie have a higher win percentage this season.
Thanks to the challenges that certain Premier League sides offer, being handy in the air is a definite attribute for any player looking to move to England.
Gravenberch is almost as difficult to beat on the ground. Just 10 players in his division have won more duels in total, and only one has a better success rate.
And while not the most frequent scorer, the 19-year-old has rattled in some fantastic long-range goals and is capable of finding the net with either foot.
It’s little surprise that Ajax have brought through yet another fine prospect as they’ve been doing so for decades.
Whether Gravenberch becomes the first player since Luis Suarez to leave them for Liverpool remains to be seen, but don’t be surprised to see the Dutch international strutting his stuff in one of the big leagues soon enough.
