A view to the future: Fabio Carvalho

[TLW]

 

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.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 

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?

View full article

[Bob]

Not up to speed with championship footie after 11 games, with 4 goals and zero assists playing in mostly a false 9 role... I'm drawing my conclusion. Shite.

[Ron B]

10 hours ago, Bob said:

Not up to speed with championship footie after 11 games, with 4 goals and zero assists playing in mostly a false 9 role... I'm drawing my conclusion. Shite.

A 21-year-old, who has arrived after an extremely stop-start 18 months which has been split between the Championship, the Prem, and the Bundesliga, and who is scoring better than a goal every three games? Shite is a bit harsh. It’s not a terrible start, even if he really does need to start pulling up trees at Hull if he’s going to force his way into our team.

[Lee909]

Couldn't do it on a cold afternoon in Hull against Stoke today

[Barrington Womble]

I think the fact there wasn't a premier league club bashing the door down for him would make you think there's quite a lot within the game who don't rate him. It's pretty hard to see any useful attacking player couldn't improve just about every side in the bottom third. 

[VladimirIlyich]

48 minutes ago, Barrington Womble said:

I think the fact there wasn't a premier league club bashing the door down for him would make you think there's quite a lot within the game who don't rate him. It's pretty hard to see any useful attacking player couldn't improve just about every side in the bottom third. 

Maybe his agent is asking silly money over appearances and so on?

[Barrington Womble]

37 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

Maybe his agent is asking silly money over appearances and so on?

Nah, I reckon nobody wanted him. He's not negotiating a new deal I wouldn't have thought, he'll be paid what he gets with us, regardless of if that's us paying or someone else. And it would be weird if hull could afford it and nobody in the PL could. 

[Trumo]

Using him in his best/preferred position would require playing with 2 holding midfielders so as not to compromise defensive shape when the team is out of possession, and to have enough attacking options around him for him to link up with when the team is in possession. I think that's one of the reasons it worked well for him under Marco Silva at Fulham, as Silva seems to like having 2 holding midfielders in his teams (Palhinha and Reed being his regulars).

[Carvalho Diablo]

Philly Coutinho wouldn't make the bench of for this current team of ours, so Philly Coutinho's afterbirth stands zero chance.

[Kevin D]

I just don’t like him.

 

Can easily see him playing for the Mancs, turning it on 1/5 games and moaning the rest of the time.

[sir roger]

13 hours ago, Kevin D said:

I just don’t like him.

 

Can easily see him playing for the Mancs, turning it on 1/5 games and moaning the rest of the time.

 

As the only other person in the universe other than you who doesnt like Jurgen, I thought you would see a kindred spirit.

[Kevin D]

30 minutes ago, sir roger said:

 

As the only other person in the universe other than you who doesnt like Jurgen, I thought you would see a kindred spirit.

You say that, but you weren’t at my nan’s 90th last week.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Flog the punk, make some money, onwards and upwards.

[3 Stacks]

17 hours ago, Trumo said:

Using him in his best/preferred position would require playing with 2 holding midfielders so as not to compromise defensive shape when the team is out of possession, and to have enough attacking options around him for him to link up with when the team is in possession. I think that's one of the reasons it worked well for him under Marco Silva at Fulham, as Silva seems to like having 2 holding midfielders in his teams (Palhinha and Reed being his regulars).

His level of talent and technique is higher than the level of the Championship and Silva is a good enough coach that he knew how to take advantage of that.

 

But when it gets to a level like Liverpool, you have to be useful tactically, on top of having the talent. That's why Elliott is where he is and Carvalho is where he is.

[Lee909]

Another goal today. 7 in last 10,8th in 16 overall. 1366 minutes total, goal every 170 minutes. There's obviously far more to look at than XG etc but

 

30 shots

15 on target

XG of 4.23

8 goals

 

Expected Assists 1.73

0 assists

 

 

I wonder if he's playing himself into the squad next year. I guess it'll depend on if anyone leaves as much as anything else