By Yannick Jonker & Dan Clubbe
Liverpool’s connection to Dutch players stretches back over two decades, 25 years to be precise. A certain manager by the name of Gerard Houllier had just taken charge of his second season on Merseyside and would sign Erik Meijer and Sander Westerveld in 1999.
Meijer would only play 24 games for the Reds, before departing for Germany. Westerveld however, would endure better times at the club, guiding the Reds to a historic treble in the 00-01 season.
Since then, the club has seen 12 players come and go from the Netherlands, with the latest two coming in the form of Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch.
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Ahead of the Legends game v Ajax, the Dutchman sat down with Dan Clubbe in our latest In Conversation With episode, to discuss how the latest two Dutch additions have fared.
The former goalkeeper admitted to being impressed with how they have begun life at Anfield, in particular the Reds’ number 18. “I know it’s difficult to make a name and start at a new team… Gakpo when he came in the first couple of months, he was amazing. He adapted very well, which shows how experienced he is at a younger age”.
“I think Gravenberch has a lot of potential and desire to play because he was not involved at Bayern Munich after being a big talent at Ajax”.
The Amsterdam-born midfielder was a mainstay in Ajax’s team before transferring to Germany. The Dutchman struggled for game time, making just 25 league appearances for the Bavarian giants. He joined Liverpool in the summer for a fee in the region of 40 million euros.
Westerveld prized the importance of the pair’s versatility. “Gravenberch plays so many positions in midfield and Gakpo as well up front. They will be very important for Liverpool in the future”. He concluded by saying that the Dutch are a “perfect fit” for the Reds.
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We also asked the former Liverpool stopper about another of the Dutch contingent and the current Anfield captain, Virgil van Dijk…
“He is an absolute legend, although in Holland we criticise our legends and he had a lot of stick from the Dutch media and a little bit from the English as well maybe. It was all over the top ‘he’s not good anymore’…he’s shown what a captain, what a player he is and how important he is.
“He’s definitely one of the best centre-backs ever in the history of English football, let alone Liverpool. It’s not the games he plays it’s the way he plays, the leader he is, and everything around him, off the pitch he is an example for everybody and I’m really pleased for him. Hopefully, he can continue a couple more years playing like this.”
‘HE’S THE PERFECT FIT FOR LIVERPOOL’ – Former LFC Goalkeeper Sander Westerveld on Xabi Alonso
Redmen Reacts
No doubt about it, Van Dijk’s levels have returned to his Rolls Royce best this season with the captain’s armband wrapped tightly around his arm as he leads with both his defending and his goal prowess, particularly in recent weeks.
As for both Gakpo and Gravenberch, there can be no doubting their talent, although they’ll be desperate to show more consistency in their performances between now and the end of the season.
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