Liverpool's summer transformation has been the bedrock from which the 2023/24 campaign's squad has planted its roots, with the industrial-scale midfield reconstruction wiping away the struggles of last season.
For the first time in a full season under Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool failed to qualify for the Champions League in a campaign that brutally exposed the deficiencies that had been bubbling under the surface for a few years.
While the summer additions have proved exciting and impactful, it did drape the curtain on illustrious Anfield careers for multiple staples of the success under the German manager's wing.
Indeed, captain Jordan Henderson completed a £12m transfer to Al Ettifaq, with No. 6 Fabinho and forward Roberto Firmino also heading to Saudi Arabia, while midfield trio Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner also exited upon the conclusion of their contracts.
Another departure perhaps went under the radar somewhat, with Fabio Carvalho making the season-long loan move to Germany to continue his development with RB Leipzig, having earned little opportunity at Anfield.
Touted for a big season, the Portuguese talent's stay in the Bundesliga is proving to be anything but promising…
Fabio Carvalho's career so far
Liverpool signed Carvalho from Fulham at the end of his contract with Fulham in 2022, though the Cottagers received £5m plus add-ons by a tribunal.
Enjoying an excellent 2021/22 campaign in London as his outfit forged a pathway back to the Premier League, the 21-year-old Carvalho (a teenager at the time) posted ten goals and eight assists in the second tier, starting 33 times.
This prompted Liverpool to return for his signature after running out of time to conclude negotiations the previous January, and while he made a big impact early into his Reds career, his influence flickered out as the campaign went on.
He did have his moments, bagging his first goal for the club in an early-season 9-0 demolition of Bournemouth in the Premier League before enjoying the pinnacle moment of his fledgling career thus far when salvaging three points against Newcastle United in the dying embers the following match, bundling in from close range.
It was a mammoth moment and one that had the feel of a turning point in Liverpool's slow-starting campaign (spoiler alert, it wasn't), but it got the Reds fanbase waxing lyrical over a new budding star.
While the diminutive whiz scored three times from 21 appearances across his first campaign at the club, including two strikes from just four starting roles in the Premier League, he would only earn six minutes in the top flight after matchweek 16, which emphasises the loss of trust from his manager as Liverpool struggled.
Nonetheless, there were promising aspects, with FBref recording that the player scored a goal every 0.51 matches in the Premier League, also making 2.31 progressive carries, 3.08 progressive passes and 2.33 shot-creating actions per game, highlighting the robustness that he exhibited despite his fleeting moments actually on the grass.
Speaking to Football FanCast earlier this year, The RedMen TV's Ste Hoare claimed that he "doesn't fit the system", and considering the additions that have been welcomed over the summer, he might find an onerous task in wedging his way into a prominent standing at the outfit.
It seemed certain that he would need to continue his development elsewhere during the 2023/24 term, honing his craft and nurturing his creative flair before returning to the fold a more refined man.
Fabio Carvalho's season in numbers
RB Leipzig offered a platform for the four-cap Portugal U21 international, concluding the loan signing after losing their star attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai to the Reds, who joined after his £60m release clause was met several weeks earlier in a separate transfer.
While it was not considered a like-for-like change, Carvalho would have been emboldened by the void the Hungary captain left in the German side's underbelly, with full belief that he would rise to the fore and demonstrate the full scale of his ability.
Thus far, the optimism that he would succeed has startingly dissipated, with German outlet Kicker claiming that Carvalho has lacked rhythm, commitment and assertiveness in his craft so far, three elements that are seemingly intrinsically braided into Klopp's Liverpool team at its full throttle.
The report also highlighted the exploits of Xavi Simons, a fellow loanee from Paris Saint-Germain, as having had a detrimental effect on his development, with the Dutchman, aged 20, far more advanced and scoring six goals and recording eight assists to boot.
And given that Carvalho has scored zero goals and zero assists from ten matches across all competitions to date, he is hardly evoking the confidence to fill Klopp with optimism back in England.
Statistic
#
Appearances
6
Starts
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Minutes per game
25
Shots per game
0.3
Pass completion
87%
Key passes per game
0.2
Dribbles per game
0.3 (67%)
Ball recoveries per game
1.2
*Sourced via Sofascore
As the table portrays, it's not really going very well, and considering that he has been left as an unused substitute on five occasions, Carvalho will be utterly dismayed with the lack of opportunity that he is finding under Marco Rose's wing.
Once hailed as a "special" player by Klopp, there is clearly an abundance of potential in there, just waiting to be harnessed, but he is not quite making the moves to cement a starting spot at the moment and a return from his loan stint in January will be a topic of internal discussion in the Anfield boardroom.
Indeed, the £42k-per-week talent will need to reignite his best performances away from Anfield in order to turn Klopp's head, and should he return in a few months, there is every possibility that a more apt loan venture could be found for him, but should this occur, he will need to produce some scintillating displays.
While Liverpool will not want to close the door on an exciting and dynamic midfielder who could yet enjoy a successful career at top level, he will need to start improving soon, and it doesn't look like this will occur at Leipzig.
