After our midweek stop at Wigan to check in on the excellent progress of Luke Chambers, TLW heads to Yorkshire to see how Fabio Carvalho is coming along at Hull City.
There is little doubt that the Portuguese U21 international has natural flair and talent, but for him it has been all about putting that together consistently.
It is something that the attacking midfielder was able to do during the 2021/22 season with Fulham where he played a major part in their promotion to the Premier League and was a member of the PFA Championship Team of the Year.
A move to Liverpool then eventuated and after a positive start highlighted by a dramatic late winner against Newcastle, it only went downhill from that point, so much so that he only made four appearances once the calendar ticked over into 2023.
That lack of momentum continued into the new campaign which can only be described as a horror loan spell at RB Leipzig where he made just 14 appearances with three starts. Indeed the biggest headlines he caused was when he claimed in a interview that Jurgen Klopp “had used him in a wrong position on the left hand side instead of his preferred role as a Number 10”.
So a mid-season return Liverpool eventuated and the 21 year-old was then sent to Hull where he joined Reds teammate Tyler Morton.
It has been a decision that has proven dividends with Carvalho thriving under the management of Liam Rosenior.
In recent days, Carvalho has mentioned that he will be back at Liverpool for pre-season training which will be under a new manager but also wanted to publicly state that there was no issue with Klopp saying that the manager “ Didn't have the greatest confidence in me, but he always helped me a lot and pointed out what I needed to do better and what I shouldn't do.”
Just like he did for Tyler a few months back, Ant Northgraves from @Hull_and Back provides an expert analysis on how Fabio has been progressing.
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Fabio has been a fantastic addition to the Hull City squad. It was clear when he first arrived that he hadn’t played much football, but soon got up to speed with the style of play and formed some strong connections with the attacking players in our squad.
I believe we’re still yet to see the best that Fabio has to offer, but considering that he has 4 goals in 11 games and isn’t at his best yet is only promising for us. He loves to pick up space in that “number 10” role, linking up with his teammates with clean, intricate passing and a keen eye for a shot.
We are asking a lot from him at the moment, as we’re struggling to play with a natural striker so Carvalho is often used as a “false 9” to occupy that focal point and score goals. However, he is playing that role very well at the moment.
If I was to be critical, he should have more assists to his name. 0 assists in all 11 games is a surprising stat, but I feel like it’s only a matter of time before he gets a few. Perhaps not having a striker to feed the ball to is the issue, but as long as he’s scoring goals then it isn’t particularly a concern.
Overall, in the short time that Fabio has been here he has been an absolute delight. He is more than happy to join in with the club’s community efforts, speaks well in interviews and seems to be really enjoying the atmosphere here at Hull City, seemingly forming some good friendships. He’s already been a big part of our play-off push and fingers crossed he is a part of a potential Wembley visit come the end of the season.
And a question to finish, Would you consider loaning him back next season?
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