Arne Slot and Fabio Carvalho Liverpool (Photo by Carl Recine, Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Liverpool may have had a quiet summer in the transfer window, but perhaps one deal that has flown a bit under the radar is the £27.5m signing of Fabio Carvalho when he left to join Brentford.
The Portuguese attacking midfielder had long been highly rated since joining Fulham a few years ago, although it’s clear he was only a bit of a flash in the pan when he struggled badly at Anfield.
Carvalho had the chance to try and revive his fortunes with loan spells at RB Leipzig and Hull City, but these didn’t go too well either, and he returned to Liverpool for pre-season.
Finally, however, he left signal for Brentford in a deal worth an initial £20m, rising to £27.5m, according to BBC Sportthe report at the time.
Even if Carvalho had some promising moments in pre-season, he made LFC legend Phil Thompson describe him as a “very intelligent footballer” and compare him to Philippe Coutinho as he speaks talkSPORTit’s clear that now seems like a huge fee for such an underwhelming player.
The sale of Fabio Carvalho looks a bit like a masterstroke for Liverpool
Liverpool fans may not be too surprised to see Carvalho now struggling at Brentford, having barely started a game for Thomas Frank’s side since joining in such an expensive deal.
The 22-year-old could have seen the move as an opportunity to play more and show what he can do, but he has started just five of his 13 appearances for the club.
It’s clear that Carvalho hasn’t won over his new manager, and it really remains to be seen if he’s good enough to make an impact at this level.
Liverpool have to wonder how they got so much money from his sale, in what was clearly a smart deal by the board, even if they had their critics at times for not bringing in many new names
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