Ryan Gravenberch was named U21 Player of the Year for last season in the Eredivisie on Wednesday evening. The nineteen-year-old midfielder of Ajax is preferred over Perr Schuurs (Ajax), Jordan Teze (PSV), Owen Wijndal, Myron Boadu (AZ) and Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord).
Players under the age of 21 at the start of the season could win the prize. All six nominees were also nominated for Player of the Year. In the end, the vote of eighteen head coaches from last season was decisive for the U21 election; for the election of Player of the Year, the vote of captains was decisive.
Gravenberch broke through last season as a controlling midfielder at Ajax. He played 47 official matches for Ajax, scoring 5 goals and providing 6 assists. Gravenberch developed into an international: he was called up for the first time in November 2020 by then national coach Frank de Boer and made his debut in March 2021 in the lost World Cup qualifier against Turkey (4-2). A few months later, he also took part in the European Championships.
Gravenberch is named the greatest talent of the past season for the second time. In May he already received the Johan Cruijff Prize for Talent of the Year in the Eredivisie. That prize, which is separate from Wednesday’s election, has been awarded since 2003. After last season, Gravenberch was already chosen by the technical staff of Ajax as Talent of the Year of the club, a prize that is called the Marco van Basten Award in Amsterdam.
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