When Fabio Carvalho was last playing Championship football, he ended up winning the second-tier title. The Portuguese returned 10 goals and eight assists for Fulham from 36 league appearances during the 2021/22 season, to help the Cottagers secure promotion back to the Premier League.
And while his last outing in the Championship ended in a 4-0 defeat to Sheffield United on the final day of the campaign, at this point Fulham had already made the historic trophy, lifted 18 times by a plethora of Liverpool legends in the pre-Premier League era, their own. The night Carvalho held aloft the heralded prize, he had registered both a goal and an assist as the Cottagers put Luton Town to the sword at Craven Cottage, running out emphatic 7-0 winners.
Of course, long before that night and his team-mates’ own fates being confirmed, the 21-year-old knew he was Premier League-bound. A move to Liverpool, which would have seen him finish the season on loan at Fulham anyway, had been agreed the previous January, only to not be finalised before the transfer window closed.
Out of contract at Craven Cottage in the summer of 2022, personal terms had still been agreed along with a compensation package, worth up to £7.7m, with Fulham. Ultimately, the youngster spent the second of half of that season knowing a switch to Liverpool lay in wait.
When Carvalho held aloft the Championship trophy in May 2022, he would not have envisaged being back in the English second tier 18 months later. Even after a disappointing maiden season on Merseyside where opportunities were limited, he would not have foreseen such a transfer when joining RB Leipzig on loan, following failed attempts to land the player permanently, last summer.
Yet after a miserable 2023, where he accumulated just 435 minutes of senior action across 19 appearances, only four of which came from the start (and two in Bundesliga and Champions League), beggars could not be choosers.
Having been recalled by Liverpool from Leipzig at the end of last month, the Reds’ intention was always to find the forward another temporary switch in a bid to get him much-increased playing opportunities. And despite Premier League interest, he ended up returning to the English second tier.
It was confirmed that Hull City had signed Carvalho on loan for the second half of the season on Wednesday, with his arrival certainly a transfer coup for the play-off hopefuls. But considering he has already shown what he can do in the Championship, it does feel like a case of taking one step backwards in hope of later taking two steps forwards.
Hull are a good club, no doubt about it. Fellow Liverpool loanee Tyler Morton has flourished for the Tigers so far this season, thriving in Liam Rosenior’s football-playing side. But such a move was a step forward for the 21-year-old following an inconsistent loan move to the Championship with Blackburn Rovers the year before.
But Carvalho has been here, done that and was meant to be experiencing Premier League, Champions League, and Bundesliga action, only for his past 18 months to go from bad to worse. Maybe this step backwards to rebuild confidence is exactly what he needs to get back on track.
Yet despite senior Liverpool figures’ insistence that Carvalho’s best years remain at Anfield, you can’t help but start to question his long-term future with the Reds.
There had been a belief that Leipzig would offer the best environment for the Portugal Under-21 international to start to fulfil the potential that made him one of the most coveted young players in Europe at the turn of 2022. Instead the same woes from his first season at Anfield continued, as he found himself devoid of game-time with it remaining unclear what exactly is his best position.
When flourishing at Fulham, Carvalho was predominantly used as a number 10. But after joining Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp talked up his ability to play on the wing, in central-midfield, and upfront.
With the Reds not playing with a number 10, he was fielded in the three aforementioned positions without much luck. And at RB Leipzig, the majority of his limited game-time came on the flanks with the Bundesliga outfit also not making use of his favoured role.
It is a different story at Hull, with Rosenior favouring a 4-2-3-1 system. Such a set-up has enabled Morton to flourish in a double-pivot midfield, with Ozan Tufan the man often tasked playing further forward behind a striker. The Turk has returned seven goals from 18 league appearances so far this season. Meanwhile on the left wing, summer signing Jaden Philogene has flourished with six goals and five assists from 14 Championship games.
Clearly Carvalho faces competition despite the drop in level. Though his new manager does consider him the “perfect” number 10.
“He brings a level of quality and consistency,” Rosenior told reporters following the transfer. “His game intelligence is outstanding and, coupled with his technical ability, his ability to see passes and finish actions. He is unselfish, he likes to link with players. He is what a perfect No 10 is for me as a manager.”
Yet if used in his preferred position in a division he has already shone in, the long-term benefit to Liverpool is still questionable, beyond looking to protect his transfer value. Of course, he could follow in the footsteps of his Reds team-mate and fellow Fulham academy graduate, Harvey Elliott. The 20-year-old was still only 17 when he joined Blackburn Rovers on loan for the 2020/21 season after one season at Anfield.
Elliott shone at Ewood Park, returning seven goals and 11 assists from 41 Championship appearances as he predominantly played in his then-preferred right-wing position. Yet despite his eye-catching displays, the elephant in the room of Mohamed Salah occupying that role at Anfield remained. When back at Merseyside, Klopp successfully transformed the teenager into a midfielder. Three years on, Elliott is proving to be the most useful, versatile squad option, with that time at Blackburn certainly a vital step in his development.
But at the time of his temporary departure, Elliott was still just a boy and had only 12 senior career appearances under his belt. In contrast, Carvalho is 21 and, even with his limited game-time over the past 18 months, has still made 86 career appearances to date.
Perhaps his situation is more akin to Dominic Solanke. A highly-rated young striker at Chelsea, the Reds snapped up the then 19-year-old at the end of his contract at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2017, with a tribunal fee believed to be in the region of £3m. He would make 27 appearances under Klopp, scoring just once and starting just six times, and became a senior England international in the process. Yet he’d fail to feature at all in the 2018/19 season, making just one squad appearance in the League Cup against former club Chelsea.
This did not stop Liverpool from receiving £24m, with add-ons, from AFC Bournemouth when selling the now 21-year-old after just 18 months in January 2019. Such a deal, receiving a £21m profit, has often been heralded as one of the club’s standout outgoing deals in the FSG era and one they could look to emulate.
Initially struggling in the Premier League with the Cherries, Solanke grew in stature following their relegation to the Championship in 2020.. Returning 45 goals from their two seasons in the second tier before winning promotion back to the Premier League, he has burst into life in his second year back in the top flight. Returning 12 goals from 19 league games already, he has only been outscored by Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah.
Solanke continues to find himself linked with a big-money move away from the Vitality Stadium, with Newcastle United reportedly having an enquiry turned down this month. Should he move on, it is possible Liverpool could profit due to an historical 20% sell-on clause.
Like Carvalho, Solanke was one of English football’s most highly-rated youngsters when the Reds signed him on a free transfer. If the Portuguese follows in the footsteps of the striker, a return to the second tier could be the making of him. Yet, with such a move perhaps also made to protect his transfer value, the possibility of Liverpool looking to make a profit and cash in can also not be ruled out.
Expected to make his Tigers debut at home to Norwich City tonight (Friday, January 12), it is up to Carvalho to make up for lost time at Hull and to recapture the form that persuaded the Reds to sign him in the first place. Whether that would be enough to earn him a long-term Liverpool future, only time will tell.
