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Steve Nicol says one Liverpool player has been better than Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk this season
Liverpool are flying high at present, sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table and also the Champions League table summit.
Any concerns of a post-Jurgen Klopp wobble at Liverpool have been allayed by the amazing work Arne Slot has done at Anfield so far.
As a result, the Reds have completed a clean sweep of early ESPN FC nominations for Premier League player of the season so far.
Don Hutchison picked Virgil van Dijk, while Shaka Hislop went for Mohamed Salah and Marg Ogden selected Luis Diaz as his player of the season so far.
Meanwhile, Anfield cult hero Steve Nicol went for a slightly more leftfield option, though he stressed that the player in question was a “straightforward” pick.
Indeed, Nicol believes that, without said player, Liverpool may not even be at the top of the table right now.
Steve Nicol says Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch has been the Premier League’s best player so far this season
The player in question is Ryan Gravenberch, who has been a revelation for the Reds this season.
Gravenberch has earned widespread plaudits for his impressive form in a new, deeper-lying midfield role under Slot.
The Dutchman, who has started all but two of Liverpool’s games this term, has helped the Reds get to the top of two tables at this stage of the season.
When asked why he picked Gravenberch ahead of the likes of Salah and Van Dijk, Nicol said: “It’s the importance that he’s (had).
“I mean, we’re basically looking at a team who looked as though they had absolutely a big hole in the middle of the park that had to be filled.
“They tried to make a couple of signings in that particular area, didn’t work out and so Gravenberch started.
“Absolutely I would argue that, without Gravenberch, Liverpool might not be top of the league, let me put it that way, how important he’s been.”
Nicol went on to say to host Dan Thomas: “The fact that you’re actually talking about Gravenberch in the same breath as Mo Salah tells you how good how good Gravenberch has been.”
And when asked whether he only went with Gravenberch because others had picked Salah and Van Dijk, Nicol said: “No, I thought it was dead simple really. I thought it was straightforward.”
Gravenberch tipped for Netherlands starring role
Vitesse coach Theo Janssen believes Gravenberch is the real deal for both Liverpool and the Netherlands.
Janssen recently lauded the Liverpool midfielder and believes he will be with the Dutch national team for years to come.
“I think the hype around Gravenberch is justified,” Janssen said. “I think he’s a really good player. He actually has everything you would expect from a midfielder.
“He is quite large, strong and technically skilled. He likes to play football forward and also has the ability to play out to players. If he wants to play forward and the space is there, he always plays forward.
”He can sit with his feet in between and then he is moving forward again. He does that with such ease. He has a fantastic running ability and he can defend great.
“This is a midfielder that we will see in the base at the Dutch national team for the next 10 years.”