Netherlands U-21 coach Michael Reiziger is not happy with Ryan Gravenberch opting to stay at Liverpool instead of joining the national U-21 team.
The Reds registered a comfortable 3-0 victory against Aston Villa on Sunday. This win before the international break has definitely secured the confidence within the team.
Summer signing Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring with a stunner in the opening minutes of the match. Thereafter, an own goal courtesy of Darwin Nunez’s shot and a Mo Salah tap-in helped the Merseysiders in getting their 3rd consecutive win.
However, the latest signing Ryan Gravenberch is yet to make his Liverpool debut after he joined the team last week.
So to settle down in the new city, the Dutch international has chosen not to join the Netherlands U-21 national team for the European Championship qualifiers.
Ryan Gravenberch does not join the Netherlands national team and stays at Liverpool
According to a new report via Dutch media outlet Algemeen Dagblad, Michael Reiziger did not like the youngster’s decision to stay at Liverpool. He commented on this situation,
“No, I don’t think it’s a good decision. That’s what I told him. I really don’t think it’s a good decision.
I know Ryan, I think he’s a good boy, a nice guy, but he made the wrong choice. You have to play with your heart for your country, not with your head.
It’s an honour. That’s it, there are no concessions. You really have to want to be there and that’s just really important to me.
But he has made his decision and he now wants to stay in Liverpool to acclimatise.”
The Dutch U-21 team will take on Moldova U-21 and North Macedonia U-21 on September 8 and September 12 respectively.
While most of the players have left the club to join their respective national teams during this time, the 21-year-old’s decision to stay back is quite commendable.
The Dutch midfielder will use this time to train at Liverpool‘s AXA Training Centre. He would try and make sure that he gets his PL debut in the clash against Wolves on September 16.
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