RB Leipzig have ended the loan of Fabio Carvalho (21) prematurely after just six months. The midfielder only made three appearances in the starting eleven
Just before Christmas, Rouven Schröder firmly refuted speculation about Fabio Carvalho’s premature return to Liverpool FC. “That’s not an issue for us, he’ll get more game time,” said the sporting director after the 2:1 win over Young Boys Bern in the final Champions League group game.
It is now clear that the Portuguese U-21 international will not play another minute for RB. After Carvalho’s side had repeatedly asked for the loan to be ended early, the club announced on New Year’s Eve that it was terminating the deal, which was originally set to run until the end of the season. The midfielder will initially return to Liverpool, but is likely to be loaned out again due to a lack of match practice.
“With Fabio Carvalho, we were able to bring a young player with a lot of potential to RB Leipzig in the summer,” Schröder is quoted as saying in a club statement: “Fabio has fitted in well with us, but ultimately both sides were hoping for much more – Fabio, of course, especially more playing time.”
This puts an early end to a misunderstanding. RB actually wanted to sign the Portuguese on a permanent basis with the then sports director Max Eberl. However, Liverpool did not agree to this and merely offered to loan him out. Unlike Paris loanee Xavi (20), who immediately found his feet in Leipzig, Carvalho never really got going with the cup winners
Schröder: “Held several talks in the past few days “
“Due to the high quality and performance density of our squad in his position, we cannot guarantee him playing time,” said Schröder, explaining the decision: “In the past few days, we have held several discussions and have come to the decision as sporting management to end the loan prematurely.”
The bottom line is 360 competitive match minutes, spread across 15 appearances in all competitions. Marco Rose called him into the starting eleven three times, usually only substituting the attacking midfielder in the closing stages. Carvalho did not manage to score a goal or provide an assist