Liverpool's Carvalho fired parting shot by RB Leipzig chief after exit to Hull

14 January 2024 , 10:50

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Fabio Carvalho struggled to make an impact whilst on loan at RB Leipzig

Fabio Carvalho "didn't want to face competition" at RB Leipzig, which resulted in a short-lived loan spell, according to the club's sporting director Rouven Schroder.

Carvalho moved to Liverpool from Fulham 18 months ago but a lack of regular minutes saw him head out to the Bundesliga outfit. Opportunities remained scarce in Germany which eventually saw the 21-year-old return to England earlier than planned.

The loanee was unable to push in front of the likes of Dani Olmo and Lois Openda in the pecking order - restricting him to only 158 minutes. He's since moved out to Hull City to further his development, but Schroder admits he didn't appear up for the fight.

He told RB Live : "We made a conscious decision to go with Fabio last summer. He had a great season with Fulham in the English second division, which is very physical. We had said to ourselves: great talent, good age, has already gained his experience.

"Nevertheless, you don't get to know a player as an end product until he's there. Fabio has a great character. But he realized: 'Okay, there's a competitor here, I need to do more!' And we noticed that he didn't want to face the competition."

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Schroder also added: "Do we feel more comfortable with a man or do we be clear and straight and say: Listen, if you don't want to go down this path, then we'll end the loan. You shouldn't be afraid of abandonment."

Carvalho, who previously excelled in the Championship before moving to Anfield, did not enjoy his Hull debut as he was part of the 2-1 loss to Norwich on Friday night. He is expected to feature far more regularly whilst playing at the MKM Stadium.

The Liverpool loanee made his Hull debut on Friday night

Hull Boss Liam Rosenior said on the playmaker's arrival: “Fábio is excited to be coming here and I’m delighted to be working with him to the end of the season. Technically, he’s outstanding. He can assist, score and run in behind. He’s brave, quick, very balanced and takes the ball.

“The reason he’s at Liverpool is because he’s got enormous potential and I can’t thank them enough for trusting us; Liverpool have seen the work we’ve done with Tyler Morton. Fábio’s got the ability to make a real impact on our season and get us to where we want to be.”

Samuel Meade