Nothing is wrong at Anfield. Liverpool has had a great start to the season with 20 points from 27 in the Premier League and three victories out of three in the Europa League group stages, despite the Tottenham issue last month. If they defeat Bournemouth away from home, they will also advance to the Carabao Cup quarterfinals the following week.
Jurgen Klopp is now enjoying a lot of success, but the German strategist is having trouble with something that is slowly getting closer to him. The issue is with Fabio Carvalho, who hasn’t produced much on loan at RB Leipzig thus far—possibly less than he did during his debut season at Liverpool.
In spite of scoring three goals, the Portuguese attacking midfielder had a difficult time playing for minutes in his debut season on Merseyside, totaling just 638, or the equivalent of seven full games. Out of Liverpool’s 51 games this year, he only started six. However, Klopp said in April that Carvalho was training “exceptionally” and stated in May that “Fabio is the player who has impressed me the most.”
“Because he trained without receiving anything, his work ethic will lead to an amazing career. It’s all about the player and his response if I don’t play him or include him in the team. I had never seen him respond like this in a row before. Incredible.”
Carvalho, a former Fulham youth product, was sent on season-long loan to the Bundesliga in an effort to improve as a player upon his return to Liverpool. But in 13 Leipzig games, he has only made two starts, and in the last four, he has not been utilized as a substitute.
If it keeps happening, Klopp and company will have serious issues. The 21-year-old’s progress would be hampered by a second season as a benchwarmer, and it would probably be necessary for him to spend another year on loan in 2024–2025. According to rumors, Liverpool has a recall option in the contract that is active during the January transfer window, and they will definitely consider using it given the current situation.
The issue is that it’s believed Leipzig paid a price to temporarily acquire Carvalho, so it will take some haggling to get the deal shortened. Not everything is as simple as telling Leipzig that the loan is being canceled. Furthermore, the Germans are unlikely to wish to fall short of their goals of winning titles in the Bundesliga, DFB Pokal, and Champions League.
