On the role change he was given by Slot last summer, Gravenberch added: “When the coach told me about where he wanted me to play, I just thought, ‘When can I start?’
“I knew I could do it, even though defensively I sometimes had my doubts. I do think I took a big step forward because it actually went naturally.
“From the first training session it went pretty well. As the season went on, opponents started to put a different pressure on us and closed us down through the middle. But that created space somewhere else. It was up to us to find the free players.
“How did I do that physically? Good question. It’s a matter of recovering well, where the people at Liverpool also deserve a big compliment. Football has become a running sport – running, running, running.
“The intensity is of course higher than before, especially in the Premier League. I have that by nature. I can run. But at Ajax, the emphasis in training was more on technique and positional play. In England, you have to run a lot more.”