On Tuesday, it marked one year since Liverpool shocked the world and signed Monaco midfielder Fabinho to a deal on Merseyside.
It was a deal that not many pundits or fans had predicted and screams the way Jurgen Klopp and Michael Edwards do business, which is discreet. Most Liverpool fans did not know what to really expect out of the Brazilian holding midfielder given that he had spent the better part of his time in Europe at AS Monaco in Ligue One.
Obviously, Monaco had the really great Champions League run a few years back with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, however, that was the only real sniff fans might have got of the player. Fans started to get a little nervy after Klopp had not even let Fabinho touch the field in the Premier League until October 20th.
Klopp was caught telling the Liverpool Echo that,
"“He came from another league playing in a completely different system to us and that takes time. The plan was – and still is – that he will make us better. From my point it is all fine, but I know the situation isn’t what some people expected but I cannot change that.”"
More from Liverpool FC
- Liverpool’s roller coaster of a season continues
- Has the bubble finally burst at Liverpool?
- How Liverpool can regain their lost glory
- Three factors which might determine the fate of the Reds this season
- 3 Liverpool players who can benefit the most from Darwin Nunez’s signing
At one point even, Reds fans even started to question if the lad was a decent footballer. But as Liverpool fans have learned with the German manager, he is patient with new players, and the results are usually great. Look at players like Andy Robertson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who rarely played at the start of their tenures but are now fan favourites.
Fabinho was a similar situation. Once the player started to make his initial appearances, you could see his play style was much slower originally. But slowly, he evolved into the player Klopp saw when he bought him.
The Brazilian is now easily a regular first team member for the Merseysiders as he finished the Premier League season with 1 goal, 2 assists, and 59 tackles. He has played a huge role in the Champions League as well, playing a pivotal defensive role in the second leg against Barcelona at Anfield.
When the team went out to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with the fans, Fabinho was screaming the words and you could see how happy he is with the situation he is in now. Definitely not the played linked to go to PSG in the January transfer window.