Liverpool man backed amid continued international fallout – Belief he won’t apologise

Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch was right to refuse a call up to the Jong Oranje and should at least be on Ronald Koeman’s preliminary list.

That’s according to journalist Mike Verweij, who has backed the Liverpool midfielder’s decision and believes Koeman is making a mistake by continuing to ignore him.

Gravenberch has found himself out of the picture for the Netherlands over the last few international breaks after refusing to play for the Jong Oranje earlier this year.

He turned down a chance to be a part of the squad, citing that he preferred to stay with Liverpool and acclimatise to his new club after joining the Reds from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window.

That seemingly didn’t go down well with Koeman and his team, who have ignored the player since and preferred other options ahead of him, including in their longer pre-lists ahead of international breaks.

That remains the case, but Verweij is perplexed by the situation, backing Gravenberch’s initial decision to turn down a call-up.

“I don’t think Gravenberch is there. That really surprises me,” he said.

“Ronald Koeman is really a people manager. Instead of 26, you can also simply put 27 on the provisional list. This would send a signal to Gravenberch: hey boy, keep it up!

“Maybe Koeman still blames him for that (the refusal to play for Jong Oranje). Perhaps Nigel de Jong (technical director of the KNVB) has not yet reached an agreement with Gravenberch about possible excuses.

“I just don’t think Gravenberch is going to apologize. A player should also be able to say that he prefers to acclimatize at his new club over the Dutch Juniors.”