When Liverpool sold Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in a jaw-dropping deal worth £144m, there was a general air of malaise. Jurgen Klopp had fostered a delightful strikeforce and it was carving opponents open at will.
Hindsight shows us that Liverpool need not have worried, for Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker were signed with the Coutinho money and the Merseysiders would go on to win hordes of silverware under Klopp’s wing.
Premier League
152
41
35
Europa League
14
2
2
FA Cup
13
4
1
EFL Cup
12
2
3
Champions League
10
5
2
Coutinho missed out, but Liverpool did not. The attack not so much purred as growled throughout the years, Mohamed Salah and co obliterating all in front of them. Klopp’s system relied upon a certain machine-like industriousness in the engine room, and Coutinho was quickly forgotten as the trophy hunting began.
He was never really replaced, but there was one young star who was signed with a similar type of profile. His name’s Fabio Carvalho, and he’s still only 22, but he doesn’t play for Liverpool any more.
Fabio Carvalho's time at Liverpool
Liverpool’s youth system was reborn throughout Klopp’s tenure. In stages, bit by bit, a fusty old academy was polished and dusted and given a fresh lick of paint.
Now it’s a juggernaut. Okay, Steven Gerrard and Trent Alexander-Arnold are two salient members of the Kirkby youth system, but further emerging talents were somewhat few and far between before Klopp arrived and lifted Anfield back up.
The revised look on promoting up-and-coming quality stretches beyond just that of homegrown nature, with Carvalho one of the targetted teenagers to be welcomed in their early stage and nurtured toward the first team.
Harvey Elliott is another, still plying his craft at the club today and being hailed by broadcaster Nubaid Haroon for having “changed the game so many times” last term.
For Carvalho, though, his role in Liverpool’s squad was short but sweet. The Portugal U21 international scored a dramatic late winner for the Reds at the start of the 2022/23 season but faded after the opening months, restricted to a bit-part role.
He languished with RB Leipzig throughout the first half of last term but dazzled on loan at Hull City from January 2024 to the end of the year. His feats, scoring nine goals and averaging 2.1 key passes per game (Sofascore), led Southampton to launch a £15m bid for his services in March, but it was Brentford who ultimately prevailed after presenting a proposal worth £22m – though this could rise to about £27.5m with add-ons included.
He’ll be hoping to play a standout part in Brentford’s Premier League campaign, and though Liverpool have a wealth of attacking talent at their disposal, Carvalho could have been the difference maker, something different to the existing options.
Slot may rue selling Fabio Carvalho
Carvalho’s ability to operate at number ten and out on the flank, playing with a kind of breezy elegance, is something that scant few other stars can replicate.
Former Liverpool star Jason McAteer even remarked that he looked “like Coutinho” in 2022, indeed carrying the same kind of glittering energy and creative swagger as the Brazilian magician.
Now, Arne Slot has sold him to a Premier League rival, one that will probably finish lower down the league ladder but offers the perfect platform for Carvalho to showcase his quality.
Take the attacking midfielder’s recent display against Leyton Orient in the Carabao Cup, for example. Sure, not Premier League-level opposition, but boy did Carvalho put on a show.
He scored one goal and set up two more against Orient, creating a total of four key passes in a playmaking masterclass. Now, Liverpool might have something of a creative overload, but he would have slotted right in – last season, the Anfield side’s 102 big chances created surpassed every other outfit in the division, while 14 from four fixtures this term puts them joint-first with Aston Villa.
Given that Liverpool still haven’t really replaced Coutinho, nurturing Carvalho closer toward the fore would have been a wonderful way to fill that hole in the team. Especially when you think that the maestro, now plying his trade in his homeland for Brasileiro Série A club Vasco da Gama, signed for only £8.5m in January 2013.
Carvalho arrived on Merseyside from Fulham in May 2022, with Liverpool paying the London side a tribunal fee of just £5m. He was sold for a profit that equates to a 450% increase, so the reasoning was just, but it could have potentially been so much more, further down the line.
21/09/24
Bournemouth (H)
Premier League
25/09/24
West Ham (H)
Carabao Cup
28/09/24
Wolves (A)
Premier League
02/10/24
Bologna (H)
Champions League
05/10/24
Crystal Palace (A)
Premier League
The action is going to continue to storm forward like a freight train over the coming weeks, and Liverpool will need to muster all their forces to return to form in the Premier League, continue their good start to their campaign on the continent and indeed start their Carabao Cup defence successfully.
With Elliott ruled until likely after the October international break after fracturing his foot with England U21s, Slot will be desperate for the rest of his squad to maintain their fitness levels.
Liverpool thought they had the new Gerrard, but he left under Klopp for £0
He was once seen as a very promising talent during his time at Anfield.
ByEthan LambSep 19, 2024
Carvalho might have been sold for a pretty penny, but he’s certainly showcasing his quality with Brentford and maybe, just maybe, Liverpool will come to regret their decision to part ways…