Liverpool suffer major blow in Ryan Gravenberch pursuit

The 21-year-old midfielder joined the German giants for an initial €18m (£15.4m) last summer after spending four years with Ajax.

However, Gravenberch endured a frustrating debut campaign at the Allianz Arena in 2022-23 and started just five of his 33 appearances across all competitions.

Gravenberch suggested earlier this month that he is willing to leave Bayern this summer in search of regular first-team football, which is understood to have alerted a number of clubs across Europe.

Liverpool have been strongly linked with the Netherlands international in recent weeks, with one report claiming that the Reds are pushing to recruit the midfielder ahead of the new campaign.

Jurgen Klopp has already strengthened his squad this summer with the addition of Alexis Mac Allister, but the Reds boss is still in the market for midfielders following the departures of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Premier League rivals Manchester United and Manchester City have also been credited with an interest in Gravenberch, but the youngster has admitted that a transfer away from Bayern is unlikely this summer.

"The difference from playing everything at Ajax to sitting on the bench for eighty or even ninety minutes each time was both physically and mentally tough," Gravenberch told Dutch news outlet AD.

"I found that especially difficult before the winter break. Now I handle it better. I assume that I will still be playing for Bayern next season.

"That's really how I feel about it. I'm in a top-three club in the world. I think that's beautiful and special. I'm not giving up easily. My goal is still to succeed at Bayern."

Gravenberch's comments follows those from Bayern president Herbert Hainer who recently played down suggestions that the midfielder would leave the club this summer.

"In my opinion, he is an incredibly talented player. That's why we brought him," Hainer told Bild.

"He got more playing time towards the end of the season. I'm sure he'll get more playing time in the future."

Gravenberch played the full 90 minutes in all three group games for the Netherlands at the European Under-21s Championship earlier this month, although he was unable to help his nation finish above Georgia and Portugal in Group A.