The Radar column also looks at an Aston Villa player drawing comparisons with New Zealand rugby legend Jonah Lomu; watch Man Utd vs Liverpool live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event from 3.30pm on Sunday; kick-off 4pm
Saturday 31 August 2024 09:50, UK
Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:
🔴 Slot's solution at No 6
💨 Lomu-like Rogers impressing
🔎 Another player to track this weekend
Liverpool were left frustrated in their attempts to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad this summer but Arne Slot may have found an in-house solution in the No 6 position.
Ryan Gravenberch, a £34.2m signing from Bayern Munich last year, featured mostly as a left-sided midfielder under Jurgen Klopp. It was the same story under Erik ten Hag, the manager whose Manchester United side he faces on Super Sunday, at boyhood club Ajax.
But Slot has asked him to play deeper, effectively swapping positions with Alexis Mac Allister, who is now starting as the left-sided No 8, and the initial signs have been encouraging.
The change has been dramatic for him, both in terms of the area of the pitch in which he is operating and what he is being asked to do. Slot wants more control and feels the Ajax-schooled Gravenberch can provide it. "I think he has the attributes to play there."
Chief among those attributes is his ball-playing ability. The change of role is seeing Gravenberch get around 30 per cent more touches than last season and make roughly 50 per cent more passes. His accuracy rate has leapt from 83.4 per cent to 90.4 per cent.
But Gravenberch is not just playing it safe. Slot's players are being encouraged to pass the ball with purpose. In the first two games of the Premier League season, Liverpool have registered a higher percentage of passing sequences leading to a shot or touch in the opposition box than any other side.
Gravenberch has been key to that and his knack for threading passes through midfield can be seen in the statistics. In Liverpool's opening two games of the campaign, he has completed more passes between the lines than any of his team-mates.
The example below, late in the 2-0 win over Brentford, shows Gravenberch after receiving the ball from Virgil van Dijk in the centre circle. There is an easy pass on to left-back Andrew Robertson but instead he takes the more difficult option to pick out Mac Allister.
Mac Allister was subsequently able to work the ball into the box for a cut-back which had to be scrambled away by Brentford and there is a similar example below from Liverpool's win over Ipswich, with Mac Allister again the target for another incisive Gravenberch pass.
On this occasion, Mac Allister instantly laid the ball off to the onrushing Dominik Szoboszlai, who, in turn, was able to put Mohamed Salah through on goal for an even better opportunity.
As seen in the example below, Gravenberch brings another quality to the No 6 role which is important to Slot: the power and dynamism to drive forward with the ball himself.
Having picked up possession in his own half, Gravenberch spots a gap in midfield and accelerates into it, carrying the ball across the halfway line and subsequently playing a pass in behind for Luis Diaz, setting up another excellent scoring chance for Slot's side.
There are still question marks defensively. Ipswich and Brentford did not test Gravenberch particular sternly in that regard. With Bruno Fernandes flitting between the lines at Old Trafford on Sunday, the game against Manchester United will be tougher.
He will need to step up.
Julian Nagelsmann, the manager who took him to Bayern Munich from Ajax, felt he could become "one of the best midfielders in the world" but only if he "adjusted a few things" out of possession. His successor, Thomas Tuchel, agreed, preferring to use him as a No 8, the same role in which he was deployed by Klopp last season.
It is only under Slot that he has had a chance to establish himself as a No 6 and while he still has plenty to prove - "he has to develop in that position, that is clear," said the new Reds boss - the early signs, especially on the ball, offer encouragement about what is to come.
There were several individuals who stood out while taking in Arsenal's win over Aston Villa from the Villa Park press box last Saturday. William Saliba was immense for the Gunners, as was David Raya. But the eye was drawn to a player on the losing side too.
Morgan Rogers is hard to miss, in truth, marrying a 6ft 3ins frame with the skill and agility of a tricky winger. In front of Lee Carsley, who surprisingly didn't find room for him in his England squad, he produced a display described by Jamie Redknapp as "unplayable".
Declan Rice and Thomas Partey would probably agree with that assessment, such was the frequency with which Rogers drove past them. "It was like watching Jonah Lomu in his prime," added Redknapp. There have been comparisons with Jude Bellingham too.
Like that high-profile pair, Rogers' ball-carrying is a major strength. According to Second Spectrum tracking data for the opening two Premier League games of the season, his average carry distance of 33.2m is nearly 20 per cent higher than any other player's.
His fine start to the campaign is a continuation of last term, when he played an important role in Villa's top-four finish following his £8m arrival from Middlesbrough in January. Continue at the same rate and it won't be long until international recognition follows.
Eberechi Eze is yet score this season but it is not for a lack of trying. The Crystal Palace midfielder has had 12 shots across the opening two games, the joint-most in the division. He had a stunning strike from a free-kick controversially ruled out against Brentford and hit the bar against West Ham. Could it be third time lucky against Chelsea on Sunday?
A major test for new West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui as he welcomes Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to the London Stadium for Saturday Night Football, kicking off at 5.30pm on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event.
On Super Sunday, Newcastle host Tottenham in a fixture they won 4-0 last season, with coverage starting at 12.30pm ahead of the 1.30pm kick-off time. Then it's time for the big one. Manchester United against Liverpool kicks off at 4pm on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event.
Catch up on last week's column, featuring analysis of Diogo Jota's role under Arne Slot, Bukayo Saka's continual improvement for Arsenal, and Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez boost.
