Ryan Gravenberch reveals he turned down his old boss Erik ten Hag and Man Utd in favour of joining Bayern Munich
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ByEurosport
Updated 13/06/2022 at 16:15 GMT
Manchester United's hunt for a new midfield star continues after Erik ten Hag's latest attempts to lure one of his former Ajax stars to Old Trafford came up short. Ryan Gravenberch has completed a move to Bayern Munich and has claimed he had the chance to switch to one of the Premier League's heavyweights but opted to honour his commitment to Bayern.
Ryan Gravenberch
Image credit: Getty Images
Ryan Gravenberch has revealed he snubbed the overtures of Erik ten Hag and Manchester United in favour of a transfer to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
The 20-year-old Netherlands international has left Ajax to join Bayern on a five-year deal reportedly worth around £21m.
The midfielder worked with Ten Hag during the coach’s spell at the helm of the Amsterdam outfit and Gravenberch has claimed he rejected the possibility of a reunion with him at Old Trafford as he had already made his decision.
“Manchester United is a very big and beautiful club. But I already had such a good feeling at Bayern Munich and I had given my word," said Gravenberch during an interview with De Telegraaf.
He added: “My mother will come to live with me in Munich. And my father will be here a lot to take care of all kinds of things, so that I can fully focus on football.
“I hope to find a house in the coming weeks. Otherwise, I will spend the first few weeks in a hotel.”
Gravenberch is an imposing midfielder, standing at 6ft 2in, who is technically sound with both feet and strong on the ball.
Ten Hag will have been disappointed to miss out on his former protégé having made the midfielder Ajax’s youngest debutant while in charge at the Dutch side.
United remain eager to bolster their midfield having seen the likes of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic depart. The Red Devils are currently being heavily linked with a £65m deal for Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong while there is also interest in another Ajax star in the shape of Antony.
Former Dutch international, Rafael Van der Vaart has already stated that his advice to de Jong would be to move to United.
“At Manchester United, it will be just like at the national team, being the only one with his type of qualities,” he told Ziggo Sport.
“I would move to Manchester United if I was him, just do it!
“The Premier League is heaven for midfielders. Everyone says ‘it's quick!’ but it only looks like a fast-paced game because players lose the ball a lot there. Just look at Bergkamp, you can enjoy yourself there. I enjoyed myself there too.
“Frenkie is so good with the national team because he's the only midfielder with these types of qualities here and he does what he wants. At Barca, there are players who can do the same and maybe be better than you or have performed more. There is Pedri, Gavi, Busquets, and so on.
“As long as those other players are there, he is out of place at Barcelona. At United, he could play more like with the Dutch national team. Then he’s the only one of his kind.
“That transfer would be ideal. There is a coach who knows exactly what he can and cannot do. 'If he had to choose today, I would go to United if I were him,” continued Van der Vaart, referring to ten Hag, who coached De Jong for a season and a half at Ajax.
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