Lijnders says 21y/o Liverpool ace ‘needs to find minutes’, urges board to ‘find the best solution’
Pep Lijnders has urged the Liverpool hierarchy to ‘find the best solution’ for Fabio Carvalho if he’s recalled from his loan spell at RB Leipzig in the near future.
The 21-year-old is struggling for game-time in Germany, making just one Bundesliga start nearly halfway through the campaign (Transfermarkt), and there have been reports in recent days of the Reds possibly cutting short the season-long deal with Marco Rose’s side.
Speaking to the media this afternoon ahead of the Carabao Cup quarter-final against West Ham on Wednesday night (via LFC official website), Jurgen Klopp’s assistant called for the youngster to be given an opportunity to ‘find minutes’, whether that’s at Anfield or elsewhere.
Lijnders said: “It’s most important he finds rhythm. We all know a player with rhythm is a different player than a player without.
“A player with confidence or without confidence, and a player who trains in a certain way, is a different player. He needs to find minutes, but it’s not up to me. It’s up to our directors to speak with the club and find the best solution for him.
“We all want the best for him because he is our player, so wait and see, but no decision [has been] made about that.”
The Daily Mail reported on Monday that Liverpool will make a ‘final decision’ on Carvalho this week, with the midfielder/winger likely to be recalled from Leipzig and have another loan move arranged in January.
He started last week’s Champions League clash against Young Boys, his first 90-minute period for the German club (Transfermarkt), but that came with the caveat that his side were already guaranteed to finish second in their group, hence Rose making some notable changes to his starting XI.
How much of a part the 21-year-old plays against Werder Bremen tonight (if any) will offer a stronger clue as to his standing within the Leipzig squad. If he fails to feature, that surely must be the trigger for his parent club to cut short the loan and reassess their options with him.
With Ben Doak requiring surgery on a knee injury and Mo Salah set to travel to the Africa Cup of Nations next month, it’s not unthinkable that Liverpool could aim to hold onto Carvalho for January at least in order to give Klopp greater squad depth in terms of the Reds’ attack.
If those factors fail to see him break into the side, though, surely another loan move is imminent. Lijnders is right – the ex-Fulham player is at a point in his career where he simply needs to be playing on a weekly basis.
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