Ryan Gravenberch has opened the door to leaving Bayern Munich this summer, potentially sparking Liverpool into action.
The Dutchman only joined the Bundesliga giants from Ajax last summer, but made just three starts in the German top-flight. He frequently spoke out about his unhappiness with life at the Allianz Arena over the past year.
His challenging time did not improve even when Bayern sacked Julian Nagelsmann to bring in Thomas Tuchel. His lack of game-time has had consequences at international level, with Gravenberch dropping out of the senior team and into the Under-21s.
Liverpool were interested in signing him from Ajax last summer when he opted to join Bayern. And the midfielder appears to have admitted to making a mistake by deciding to move to Germany, opening the door to a departure this summer.
"To be honest, yes I am," Gravenberch told ESPN when asked whether he was disappointed with his lack of playing time at Bayern this season.
"I expected to play more minutes than I did. I thought I would get some more chances. It's about just wanting to play, that's the most important thing at my age. I hope it'll be at Bayern - otherwise, we'll just have to look further.
"I want to play, but the manager is picking other players. I have to accept it, but it’s difficult. I was hoping for more minutes but I have to stay calm. I told everyone that I don't want another year like that. Of course you can't always be in the starting XI, but you can still play regularly - you can get a lot of minutes."
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Tuchel had given the 21-year-old hope that he would be given more playing time under his management. The German insisted that the Dutchman just had to stay patient and his opportunities would come.
"He did well when he was subbed on against Freiburg. I’m not thinking any further than Hoffenheim right now. He’s a candidate to start or to come on during the game. I see his qualities in training," the Bayern boss said in April.
"It’s hard to try things now. He’s training well. He’s a No.8 who can turn and dribble very well. Now it’s about being patient. It’s about fighting to be there. He has to be patient and impatient in this situation. He has to go for the smallest chance in every training session."
Bayern will not be willing sellers though, having spent more than £20million to sign him last summer. And with four more years on his contract, president Heb Hainer has insisted he will be handed a bigger role in the future.
Hainer told BILD : “In my opinion, he is an incredibly talented player. That’s why we brought him. He got more playing time towards the end of the season. I’m sure he’ll get more playing time in the future.”
