Perhaps the most important decision for the Reds next month will be theirs. Much has been said about the return of Fabio Carvalho from his loan spell at RB Leipzig. The attacking midfielder had a difficult first half in the Bundesliga. He was left on the sidelines when he joined Leipzig hoping for regular game time after struggling for minutes in his first season at Anfield in 2022/23. To date, Carvalho has appeared in 14 games for Die Roten Bullen, amassing 354 minutes of action. In Leipzig’s last six league games, the 21-year-old has been used four times and made two brief seven-minute cameos. Of course, Liverpool are linked with Leipzig because of the possibility of Carvalho’s return.
After a stellar 2021/22 season in which Fulham lifted the Championship title with 11 goals and eight assists, Klopp and his coaching staff have brought in new talent with an eye to the future. At this important stage of his career, Carvalho must not stagnate. Leipzig’s Marco Rose was asked about Carvalho earlier this month and admitted that Xavi Simons and Christoph Baumgartner are currently at the top of the table. Rose said: “He’s a good young man and a good footballer. You can tell the quality is there. They are strong players in his position. He must stay at their level. But you have to be at their level. If you do that, you’ll definitely have a chance to prove yourself.”Third-placed Leipzig face Wolfsburg tonight ahead of the German league’s festive break. Liverpool will have to make a decision on Carvalho’s future after the game.
The transfer window in January will take place in two weeks. Like other clubs, Liverpool are not expected to be as busy, but they have some decisions to make. Jurgen Klopp has admitted he does not want to replace Joel Matip. Klopp, who will rule the centre-back out for the rest of the season despite suffering a torn cruciate ligament, said he did not expect Liverpool to have a world-class option. January is a market the Reds will want to take advantage of if they have the right players. Virgil van Dijk paid a club record £75m in 2018. Luis Diaz signed for £37.5m in 2022, while Cody Gakpo joined Liverpool for £37m in last season’s winter transfer window.
