Plenty has been said about Mohamed Salah’s regression this season and abrupt decline in 2025/26 after being the best player in the Premier League last year, and while he did score the lone goal for the Reds in their shock defeat to relegation candidates Wolves, [Liverpool](https://walkon.com/) fans are not changing their tune about the Egyptian legend.
However, they are now adding another Premier League Player of the Season caliber star from the 2024/25 title winning season to their list of regressors partially responsible for their downturn in 2025/26.
Ryan Gravenberch was a massive success story under Arne Slot last season and the best midfielder in the Premier League, dominating in all phases. Now, he is a shell of himself and a liability like Salah, holding back the midfield.
Liverpool have gone from one of the best midfields in Europe to a unit that is mediocre at best, even though Dominik Szoboszlai is having a career year. Now, Gravenberch is far from the only offender – Alexis Mac Allister has been terrible, too – but considering where he was last season, the young Dutchman has been a tremendous disappointment.
Although Gravenberch has four goals and three assists on paper, everything else is a problem. He is still defending at a very high level, but his chance creation and ball progression have been atrocious, miles below what they were last season.
Liverpool are not pushing the ball forward, controlling games, or getting it to their main creators and scorers as efficiently in dangerous areas, and even Slot has recognized and bemoaned this. Gravenberch’s surprising regression at 23 has been a big part of that, and Slot needs to get more out of him again.
Joe Soriano is the editor of _The Trivela Effect_ and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like _The Real Champs_ (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage _NFL Spin Zone_ and _Daily DDT,_ covering the NFL and pro wrestling.