Jurgen Klopp's crazy £35m transfer gamble brings Liverpool incredible £87m reward

Jurgen Klopp took a real chance on a £35m deal back in 2023. It's now brought a £87m reward.

Rewind to 2023 and Liverpool had to rebuild their midfield. They did want to do that anyway after a disappointing campaign but Fabinho and Jordan Henderson forced their hands by pushing forward deals to Saudi Arabia.

The two main deals were for Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. Liverpool made those ones happen fairly quickly before pursuing a record-breaking deal for Moises Caicedo from Brighton.

He picked Chelsea instead, leaving the Reds to scramble for a different option. They found one in Ryan Gravenberch, who was struggling badly at Bayern Munich as his career went off the rails.

The one-time Ajax golden boy had to place in the Bayern team and there wasn’t one coming. They were happy to call him on his spell there after one year, selling Gravenberch for around £35m - twice what they’d paid in 2022.

With that, Liverpool were gambling on his recapturing his potential, essentially. In 2026, they believe he’s done just that.

Liverpool’s Gravenberch gamble

That £35m deal was a magnificent one. Gravenberch had a hit-and-miss time in his debut campaign under Jürgen Klopp but his second season was an extraordinary one.

Arne Slot decided to try him as more of a deep, holding midfielder after failing to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. It was an inspired choice, with Gravenberch making the role his own and eventually earning a spot in the PFA Team of the Year.

Now, in March 2026, Liverpool have renewed the Dutchman’s contract in a deal worth €100m (De Telegraaf). An extraordinary outlay that makes Gravenberch one of the best-paid players in the country.

That initial outlay has given Liverpool what they believe to be a €100m+ player and you can’t really ask for much more than that. It highlights how simply backing yourselves to exploit a player’s ability better than his current club can leads to fantastic value - and secure world-class talent where others maybe don’t see it.

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