Jack Lusby from supporter group This Is Anfield wonders if Fabio Carvalho's loan to Leipzig is a wake-up call or the start of a long goodbye
(Image credit: Future / Getty)
When Liverpool completed the signing of Fabio Carvalho, it was viewed as the triumphant culmination of a pursuit that saw Liverpool steal a march on their rivals.
A deal was initially agreed at the close of the January transfer window in 2022, only for EFL red tape to derail the move resulting in Carvalho spending the rest of the 2021-22 season as a Fulham player.
That was, of course, always the plan, with a loan already agreed with the Cottagers upon the deal's conclusion, but instead Liverpool were left with 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 looked to beat other clubs to the punch. But by May, Carvalho's switch to Anfield was official and soon after Jurgen Klopp lauded his new signing as “a player who can bring a stadium to its feet.
“He can play so many different positions for us, the way we play,” the manager explained.
“At the minute he's not really set on one position – it's the wing, it's the eight, it's the 10, it's the false nine if he grows a few more muscles.”
Glimpses during pre-season were tantalising, with Carvalho dazzling in a left-sided role as the Reds tore apart RB Leipzig in a 5-0 friendly win.
But less than a year on, the 20-year-old is actually on his way to Leipzig to spend his second campaign as a Liverpool player out on loan there.
It is clear that things didn't pan out as either Carvalho or Klopp hoped, even though 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 jubilant Anfield night - stood out as highlights, with the attacking midfielder featuring prominently in his first four months.
After that, though, was an almighty drop-off.
Between the return from the World Cup and the end of the campaign, Carvalho only played five times, with two starts over those six months coming in domestic cups.
Klopp remained effusive in his praise of Carvalho and sympathetic about his position, though question marks were raised over his maturity by Portugal under-21s manager Rui Jorge, who was disappointed that the player couldn’t “pick up the phone” to explain his decision to pull out of a squad in November.
And for all the applause for his efforts in training, the proof was in the lack of game time afforded as the likes of Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott benefited instead.
It quickly became apparent that the versatility that made him so unique upon his arrival served as more of a detriment than an advantage.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Carvalho was trialled in various 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 needed to be pared back as defensive discipline took priority.
But similar to the player he effectively replaced, the popular but peripheral Takumi Minamino, it was clearly not a natural fit for the No. 28.
And with Liverpool struggling for much of the season, it was perhaps no surprise that the manager felt unable to integrate Carvalho into his system while he was not fully attuned to off-the-ball responsibilities.
That isn't the say he can't press, more so 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 swiftly slotted into the false nine role Klopp claimed could become Carvalho's if he "grows a few more muscles".
Gakpo has made the transition to Roberto Firmino's job as connector look easy - and standing at 6ft 4 to Carvalho's 5ft 7, means the Dutchman has a distinct advantage over Carvalho in the muscle department.
Twenty-one appearances, of which only eight came as a starter, was clearly not what Carvalho will have wanted - or even expected - when he decided to leave the comfort and promise of a promoted Fulham, and rumblings of discontent began as the season drew to a close.
(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.
At face value, joining Leipzig, who finished third in last season's Bundesliga and only 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 in his loan deal, suggesting they remain hopeful his long-term future lies at Anfield.
That or they are confident they could secure a higher fee next summer after a season in the spotlight at Leipzig.
The German club's permanent offer of €12 million was seen as derisory and it is hard to disagree: due to terms in Liverpool's agreement with Fulham, which included a sell-on clause, The Reds would stand to take less than £2 million in profit.
There are more instances of Liverpool players departing the first team on loan and never reclaiming their role than there are of players coming back and establishing themselves at Anfield properly.
But Carvalho can look to the likes of Elliott, Minamino and Divock Origi as examples of it working out - if a long-term stay on Merseyside is still his desire.
Origi's stint at Wolfsburg in 2017/18 seemed likely to pave the way for a permanent transfer, with Wolves interested, but he went on to spend the next four seasons in Klopp's senior squad, scoring some of the most important goals of his reign including in the 2019 Champions League final.
Circumstances can change, and Carvalho will only turn 21 in August, so there's certainly still a chance he emulates Elliott's success at Blackburn and returns as a focal part of Liverpool's plans.
(Image credit: Getty)
After all, the manager himself described it as “a short-term and a long-term project” upon signing him.
But that so few opportunities came his way even after Klopp switched to a 3-4-3 system which, on paper, better suited his qualities could be damning evidence.
In theory, the overlapping left-sided role that saw Jones thrive as one of two No. 10s could have been perfect for Carvalho.
The sum total of his exposure in the new box midfield setup was a six-minute cameo when Liverpool were already 3-0 up away to a struggling Leicester.
He replaced Jones as the attacking left-sider, and looked eager to get on the ball whenever possible, but more notable was his muted reaction during the Reds' post-match celebrations.
As the travelling Kop serenaded Roberto Firmino with a rendition of his song that lasted long after the Leicester fans had filed out of the King Power, Carvalho left his team-mates and headed for the tunnel.
It was only after an embrace from Klopp that he turned back and rejoined the group - when it comes to his future at Liverpool, though, he may not prove as easily convinced.
A long year awaits at Leipzig, and in that time his parent club will have hopefully enjoyed a revival of their own fortunes.
The temporary agreement leaves a lot up in the air, but it is hard to escape the feeling that both Liverpool and Carvalho will move on without each other in the coming 12 months.
Jack Lusby writes for This Is Anfield, the independent Liverpool website, and has been a regular FourFourTwo contributor since 2018. He is an expert on Liverpool's youth academy players and has a keen eye on ensuring transfer stories are sourced correctly, which means he is a proficient user of Google Translate.
