Liverpool must stick by struggling summer signing Fabio Carvalho

It was no surprise that Carvalho was in such high demand once it became clear he would be leaving Fulham at the end of his contract last summer.

Having made his senior debut at the back end of the 2020-21 campaign, the England Under-21 international had enjoyed a spectacular season as the Cottagers romped to promotion from the Championship last term.

Carvalho, playing in a roving role behind the prolific Aleksandar Mitrovic, scored 11 times in 38 games for Marco Silva’s side, his performances earning him a place in the PFA Championship Team of the Year, as well as the Championship Young Player of the Year award.

Liverpool had initially tried to sign him in January 2022, intending to loan him back to Fulham for the remainder of the season, but ran out of time on transfer deadline day as they sought to conclude a deal.

Despite that setback, they were able to negotiate a deal worth £5 million ($6.2m) up front, with a further £3m ($3.75m) in add-ons, as well as a 20 percent sell-on clause, with Carvalho’s signing officially confirmed at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, a move which left Klopp, and plenty of others inside Anfield, delighted.

Once signed, it didn’t take long for Carvalho to display his potential. He enjoyed a strong pre-season, playing both as a No.8 and on the left of Klopp’s attack. A turn and run to set up fellow new-boy Darwin Nunez for a goal against RB Leipzig, in particular, stood out.

His competitive debut came as a late substitute in the Community Shield win over Manchester City in July, and by the end of August he had started to make significant contributions off the bench. He helped create a goal for Mohamed Salah at Old Trafford, then notched his first Reds strike in the 9-0 win over Bournemouth.

Then came an even bigger moment as Carvalho, brought off the bench with 20 minutes remaining against Newcastle, grabbed a 98th-minute winner to sink Eddie Howe’s side to spark wild scenes of celebration at Anfield. 

He was rewarded, three days later, with his first Liverpool start, picked in midfield for the Merseyside Derby against Everton at Goodison Park, but lasted only 45 minutes before being replaced, having suffered a dead leg in a challenge with Amadou Onana.

Still, he continued to pick up minutes, starting in the league against both Brighton and Nottingham Forest, and in the Champions League away to Rangers. By the time the domestic season broke for the World Cup in November, he had accumulated 16 appearances in all.

When Carvalho joined Liverpool, he joined a team flying high, one with a clearly-defined way of playing and a well-honed skill of ‘finding a way’ to win matches, whatever adversity it faced.

The thinking was that Carvalho, like Nunez, would add something different to an already well-rounded side. Nunez had power and liked to run in behind, while Carvalho was a technical, creative player who liked to play between the lines as a No.10, much in the style of former Reds star Philippe Coutinho.

As this season progressed, however, the established structures within Liverpool’s team began to crumble. Key players lost form, others picked up injuries or began to look their age. The counter-pressing broke down, the midfield was left exposed, and everyone suffered.

Nunez certainly has, and Carvalho to an even greater extent. He hasn’t started a league match since October 22, and has only come off the bench once in that time. 

In January, Liverpool signed Cody Gakpo, a forward who plays either off the left coming inside or as a No.9 who drops deep. Carvalho’s areas, in other words.

In February, Klopp admitted Carvalho’s absence from the team, and occasionally the squad, was because Liverpool “needed different skills”. More physicality in midfield, for example, or a more natural presser out wide.

“He did nothing wrong,” Klopp said, but his team selections have told their own story. 

Perhaps the biggest issue Carvalho has faced at Liverpool is that he plays in a position that really doesn’t exist in a Klopp side.

He looks, with his silky touch, inventive passes and eye for goal, to be a classic No.10, one who picks up the ball between the lines and looks to create.

Liverpool’s 4-3-3 system, though, does not allow for such a player. Klopp asks his No.9, whether it is Gakpo, Roberto Firmino or Diogo Jota, to do the job of a No.10, dropping into midfield to create overloads, open up space and disrupt the opposition’s holding midfielder. He also expects them to lead the press whenever possession is lost.

Carvalho, from what little we have seen of him, does not have the physical presence to play as that No.9, and he lacks the running power of a Nunez, a Luis Diaz or a Mohamed Salah when playing out wide.

In short, for the time being he is trapped. A talented player, for sure, but perhaps the right man in the wrong place at the wrong time - a No.10 in a team which doesn’t require one.

So what happens next, then? Klopp says Carvalho has made “big improvements” this season, but reports recently have suggested he may look to leave in the summer in search of more regular football.

Liverpool sources insist there have been no developments, and that Carvalho has been training to a high standard, but GOAL understands there is significant frustration on the player’s part, and that a loan move next season is seen as a big possibility.

He should have no shortage of suitors, and Klopp would be unlikely to stand in his way if an offer was to arise. The manager still believes Carvalho can have a long-term future at Anfield, but is also sympathetic to the youngster’s desire to play more often.

“Yes, we will talk to each other,” Klopp said recently. “And then we will see what we will do - what he wants, what I think. But there's no decision yet."

Of course it would be easy, after such a campaign, to conclude that Carvalho’s Reds career is doomed to failure. He would not, after all, be the first to find the step up too much to deal with. 

That, however, would be an extremely short-sighted viewpoint. At 20, he remains a player of real quality and vast potential, one who signed a five-year contract last summer and who, along with the likes of Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Calvin Ramsay, Ben Doak and Stefan Bajcetic, should be hoping to play a big role in the emergence of Klopp’s next great Liverpool side.

Naturally there will be disappointment on his part, especially with his former club Fulham visiting Anfield on Wednesday. How many games, he may reasonably wonder, would he have played this season had he remained at Craven Cottage?

The fact remains, though, that he chose to move on, to step up, to test himself. It’s proving a bigger test, perhaps, than he imagined, but he would be wise not to give up just yet.

And by the same token, Liverpool would be wise not to give up on him too.