Jurgen Klopp was on a spending spree this summer and the German became the highest-spending manager in the Premier League. Consequently, Liverpool made the headlines with the mega money signings of Alisson Becker, Naby Keita and Fabinho.
With Liverpool in dire need of a reliable No. 1 between the sticks, Alisson found his role right from the start of the season. Keita too became a familiar name in Liverpool’s midfield but Fabinho had to wait for a long time to make his Premier League bow.
Signed from Monaco for a whopping £43.7 million in the summer, the Fabinho took time to acclimatise to the style of play prevalent in England. He came on as an injury time substitute in Liverpool’s 3-2 victory over PSG on Matchday 1 of the Champions League but it was in the EFL Cup tie against Chelsea that he got his first start.
Fabinho struggled to cope with the tempo of the game on his first start. He was decent with his passing but he looked way off the pace, a glaring misfit for Klopp’s high-intensity pressing football that requires intense work-rate. It was apparent from his first performance that he was not capable of moving the ball around quickly and would struggle to make an impact in the Premier League.
Well, Jurgen Klopp has worked his magic and things have changed for the 25-year-old Brazilian. From a glaring misfit and a transfer blunder to a first-team regular, Fabinho has turned his fortunes around in the most dramatic manner.
After enduring the initial struggles, Fabinho has become a regular for Jurgen Klopp in the centre of the park, starting seven out of Liverpool’s last eight games in the Premier League. He was the star of the show last week as the Reds drubbed Manchester United 3-1, putting in a solid shift in the midfield and cutting out the attacks even before they took shape.
And the Brazilian showed that he is slowly getting better and better with each passing game. Fabinho was once again in the thick of things as the Reds put an end to Wolves resurgence with a 2-0 win. The Brazilian played a good one-two with Sadio Mane and the Brazilian set up Mohamed Salah’s opener with an inch-perfect from the right.
The 25-year-old has averaged 52 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 83.8, including 2.1 tackles per game. It would be fair to say that the Brazilian has added a new dimension to Liverpool’s midfield with his passing, distribution and, most importantly, tackling.
As evident from his displays, Fabinho was oozing with confidence and showed the intent to contribute more to the attack.
The Brazilian has proven himself to be one of the best buys of the summer and he might play an important role in Liverpool’s title challenge if he continues to impress.