Fabio Carvalho at Liverpool: what went wrong and what does his future look like?

6 min readJul 14, 2023

When Liverpool completed the signing of Fabio Carvalho, it was seen as the triumphant culmination of a chase that sa…

When Liverpool completed the signing of Fabio Carvalho, it was seen as the triumphant culmination of a chase that saw Liverpool steal a march on their rivals.

A deal was initially agreed at the end of the January 2022 transfer window, but EFL bureaucracy derailed the move, resulting in Carvalho spending the rest of the 2021–22 season as a Fulham player.

That was always the plan, of course, with a loan already agreed with the Cottagers when the deal was done, but instead Liverpool had no concrete guarantees that he would join them in the summer.

Fast-forward three months and a £7.7 million transfer was reported as Barcelona appeared to be beating other clubs. But in May, Carvalho’s move to Anfield was official and shortly after, Jurgen Klopp hailed his new signing as “a player who can mobilize a stadium.

“He can play for us in so many different positions, as we play,” the manager explained.

“At the moment he’s not really in one position — it’s the wing, it’s the eight, it’s the 10, it’s the false nine when he gets a little more muscle.”

Pre-season glimpses were tantalizing, with Carvalho dazzling in a left-sided role as the Reds ripped RB Leipzig apart in a 5–0 friendly victory.

But less than a year later, the 20-year-old is actually on his way Unpleasant Leipzig will spend his second campaign as a Liverpool player there on loan.

Clearly things have not turned out the way Carvalho or Klopp hoped, even if there were flashes of that quality throughout the competitive season.

Back-to-back goals against Bournemouth and Newcastle — the latter a 98th-minute winner on a cheering Anfield night — stood out as highlights, with the attacking midfielder taking pride of place in his first four months.

After that, however, was an almighty drop-off.

Between the World Cup return and the end of the campaign, Carvalho made just five appearances, with two starts in those six months in domestic cups.

Klopp remained effusive in his praise of Carvalho and sympathetic to his position, although his maturity was questioned by Portugal Under-21 manager Rui Jorge, who was disappointed the player couldn’t “pick up the phone” to express his decision to lay. to retire from a squad in November.

And for all the applause for his efforts in training, the proof was the lack of playing time as players like Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott took advantage instead.

It soon became clear that the versatility that made him so unique upon his arrival was a disadvantage rather than an advantage.

Liverpool, Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Carvalho was tried out in a variety of roles, including as part of a midfield three, but the attacking instincts that saw him score 10 and assist eight in 36 games as Fulham won the Championship had to be pushed back as defensive discipline took priority.

But similar to the player he effectively replaced, the popular but peripheral Takumi Minamino, he clearly wasn’t right for the number 28.

And as Liverpool struggled for much of the season, it was perhaps no surprise that the manager felt unable to integrate Carvalho into his system while not fully aligned with his off-the-ball responsibilities.

That’s not to say he can’t press, in fact the nuances of Klopp’s system were never natural to him.

A stark contrast to his situation came with the signing of Cody Gakpo in January; a career winger, the Dutchman quickly slipped into the false nine role Klopp claimed he could become Carvalho’s if he “grows a few more muscles”.

Gakpo has made the transition to Roberto Firmino’s job as a connector look easy — and at six feet tall compared to Carvalho’s five-foot-tall, the Dutchman has a clear advantage over Carvalho in terms of muscle.

Twenty-one appearances, only eight of which came as a starter, was clearly not what Carvalho will have wanted — or even expected — as he decided to leave behind the comfort and promise of a promoted Fulham, and rumblings of discontent began as the season progressed. progressed. to an end.

(Image credit: Getty)

Despite interest from elsewhere in the Premier League, including West Ham, Brentford and Burnley, the Portuguese has instead decided to head abroad.

On the face of it, joining Leipzig, who finished third in the Bundesliga last season and just five points behind title winners Bayern Munich, is a promising move for Carvalho.

But Liverpool were unwilling to agree to a sale, or an option to buy back his loan deal, suggesting they remain hopeful his long-term future lies at Anfield.

Either that or they are confident they can get a higher fee next summer after a season in the spotlight at Leipzig.

The German club’s €12 million permanent offer was deemed ridiculous and it’s hard not to agree: due to the terms of Liverpool’s deal with Fulham, which included a sell-on clause, The Reds would pay less than £ 2 million in profit. .

There are more examples of Liverpool players leaving the first team on loan and never reclaiming their role than players coming back and settling well at Anfield.

But Carvalho can look to Elliott, Minamino and Divock Origi as examples of how it works — if a long-term stay on Merseyside is still his desire.

Origi’s stay at Wolfsburg in 2017–18 looked likely to pave the way for a permanent transfer, with Wolves interested, but he spent the next four seasons in Klopp’s first squad, scoring some of the key goals of his reign, including in the 2019 Champions League final.

Circumstances may change and Carvalho won’t turn 21 until August, so there’s certainly still a chance he could match Elliott’s success at Blackburn and return as a central part of Liverpool’s plans.

(Image credit: Getty)

After all, the manager himself described it as “a short-term and a long-term project” when he signed it.

But that so few chances came his way, even after Klopp switched to a 3–4–3 system that better suited his qualities on paper, could be damning evidence.

In theory, the overlapping left-sided role that saw Jones thrive as one of two №10s would have been perfect for Carvalho.

The total of his performance in the new midfield line-up was a six-minute cameo as Liverpool were already 3–0 up against a struggling Leicester.

Replacing Jones as the attacking left wing, he appeared eager to get the ball wherever possible, but more notable was his muted response during the Reds’ post-game celebrations.

As traveling Kop Roberto Firmino serenaded with a rendition of his song that lasted long after Leicester fans had left the King Power, Carvalho left his teammates and headed for the tunnel.

Only after a hug from Klopp did he return and rejoin the group — when it comes to his future at Liverpool, he may not prove so easily convinced.

A long year awaits at Leipzig, and in that time hopefully his parent club will have enjoyed a resurgence of their own fortunes.

The temporary deal leaves much up in the air, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that both Liverpool and Carvalho will continue without each other for the next 12 months.

Fabio Carvalho at Liverpool: what went wrong and what does his future look like?

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Written by Sports Highlights

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