Speculation has suggested that Liverpool could let summer signing Fabinho leave the club during the January transfer window.

It’s been reported that the Anfield club could be willing to offer up the Brazilian international in a swap deal for Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp stated last month that he admires the midfielder’s qualities and that it’s just taken him a bit of time to settle in to life in the Premier League:

“He has the qualities, all the qualities. Hard challenges, good offensively, defensively, quick, good shooter, fantastic set pieces, good header, all these things. Strategic too, good strategically in the right moment,”

“But it’s been a different system, we play just different, and that’s what then always needs time, that’s all.”

We all know that Klopp is a great man manager and he’s very careful when bringing new recruits into his starting line-ups.

The German made Andrew Robertson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wait for their first team opportunities. Fellow new summer signing Xherdan Shaqiri has also had to bide his time as he waited for his chance to shine. The Swiss international got that chance in recent weeks and he’s thrived.

The same thing has happened with Fabinho.

After waiting until mid-September to make his full debut in a Red jersey, the £43.6m man has since made four more starts and Liverpool have won three of those fixtures and drawn the other one. He was superb in the Champions League victory over Red Star Belgrade and he also shone in Liverpool’s comfortable 2-0 win over league strugglers Fulham.

His passing has been very efficient, with the twenty-five year old averaging over 86% in his passing success rate in his seven league/European appearances.

I believe he was brought in to add steel into Klopp’s midfield and he’s doing pretty well in that front. When given a chance he’s making around 2.6 tackles per Liverpool game (that’s better than any other Reds midfielder this season). The Brazilian is also making 1 interception and 1.4 headers per match.

Those defensive attributes could become a game changer as the season progresses as he could give his team much needed defensive balance in the heart of the pitch. He possesses the concentration levels needed to anchor the midfield area.

The holding midfielder can be deployed as a right back, that versatility is another plus point for the Merseyside club.

Fabinho also offers plenty when he pushes forward. He was a known goalscorer during his AS Monaco days as he is a direct threat from set-piece situations. He also has the vision and craft to create chances for fellow teammates.

I’d be very surprised if Jurgen Klopp felt that his judgement on Fabinho has been wrong in some way. I truly believe that the German coach thinks within time that the Brazilian will be a regular starter for the Reds especially in the bigger games.

We will have to wait and see what January brings but I’ll be amazed if Brazilian international Fabinho leaves Liverpool for a new adventure.

Posted on November 20th, 2018 by scott
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