Among the tactical alterations deployed by Slot when he took over from Jürgen Klopp last summer was switching Gravenberch to the base of his central three players.

The No.38 proved a revelation in the role, starting every game in the top flight from the opening day until the win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield that confirmed the Reds as title winners.

In an interview with Sky Sports, head coach Slot detailed the reasoning and planning behind the change – including how it involved teammate Alexis Mac Allister – and his confidence that Gravenberch can still add to his skillset.

“I spoke to most of the players, maybe to all of them, in their summer break,” said Slot.

“And one of the things Alexis said to me – and I also felt the same about it – is that he has no problem playing as a No.6, he did quite well the season before, but he prefers to play with a No.6 behind him. And I think that gets the best out of him. That’s also why we were interested in signing a No.6.

“Ryan came back one or two days earlier and that way he could play the Manchester United game [in the USA] in that position and I immediately liked it because he was so comfortable on the ball.

“If you watch this game back, there is one moment where we played the ball towards him and there was someone who tried to press him and he just used his body, and the player that pressed him didn’t see him back for a few seconds. I immediately felt that would be a good asset to have.

“And then we had to find out during the first games in the season if he was defensively strong enough. But he definitely was and I think he is now one of the players that has the most interceptions and all these kinds of things.

“That’s also a team dynamic, because if the front three don’t work enough, it’s hard for a No.6 to win the ball back. But he is having all the ingredients to play in that position really well.

“Maybe what he could add to his game is maybe one- or two-touch play and find even more players in between the lines. Maybe he can take Virgil [van Dijk] as an example because Virgil is, for me, our best player in that part, finding players in between the lines.

“But he has done great, Ryan, that’s for sure.”