Former Fulham midfielder Fabio Carvalho could be set for a return to Fulham, just a year after leaving for Liverpool.
It’s fair to say that the 20-year-old’s move to Merseyside hasn’t quite worked out the way he’d hoped upon leaving Craven Cottage last year. With his game-time dwindling alarmingly through the second half of the season, Carvalho could be looking for a quick Anfield escape route.
And as per a report in The Athletic, Fulham are put forward as a ‘possible destination’ for him.
As are RB Leipzig, who reportedly had a bid of around £10m for Carvalho recently rejected. Sources at Liverpool are claimed to be ‘adamant’ that the youngster won’t be allowed to leave permanently.
But he does need to play. And as a result, there are said to be a ‘number’ of Premier League teams with loan offers ‘on the table.’ It isn’t stated explicitly whether Fulham are one of these teams, but the suggestion is very much that they are. With offers to consider, a loan move is reportedly seen as the most likely outcome for Carvalho this summer.
While a move back to Fulham may be a bit of a climbdown personally for Carvalho, it would seem like a good option on paper.
Marco Silva clearly didn’t want the Portugal U21 star to leave when he did. Having developed him into a first team player, Silva knew how to get the best out of Carvalho in his system.
Consequently, if its game-time Liverpool’s No.28 is looking for, then he should get it back at Craven Cottage.
That all kind of begs the question of whether he’d have been better off staying at Fulham last year. Well, from our Liverpool-tinted point of view, obviously not. Had he stayed and gone on to perform in the Premier League, there’s no way the Reds could have got him for the price they did.
There’s still a real player in Fabio, as Liverpool are well aware. Jurgen Klopp has been singing his praises a lot recently, calling his application and attitude in training ‘outstanding.‘
It’s still a real positive for the Reds to have a young player like that on their books. But they do need to see that he can do it at a consistent level in the top division.
Should he go back to Fulham and do that, there’ll be hope at Liverpool that he can yet have a proper career at Anfield. Let’s see if anyone else comes forward, but for now, this could be a plan.