Rumours from France have persisted in recent weeks over a January move to PSG for Fabinho, but it is clear the Brazilian is increasingly settled at Liverpool.
In the lead up to the Reds’ Champions League clash with the Ligue 1 giants at the Parc des Princes in November, it was claimed Fabinho could leave Merseyside imminently.
Conveniently timed, the suggestion from French publication L’Equipe was that the meeting was “an opportunity” for PSG to broach their interest in the midfielder.
Fabinho was an unused substitute in that 2-1 defeat, which left Liverpool needing their 1-0 win over Napoli in the last game of Group C to book a last-16 tie with Bayern Munich.
And almost a month later, he is still being touted with a swift exit, and a return to France, having only joined the Reds from AS Monaco in a £39 million in May.
In Friday’s edition of the same paper, as translated by Sport Witness, Arnaud Hermant reports that PSG see Fabinho as “a solution” as they look to bolster their midfield ranks.
Chelsea‘s Cesc Fabregas and Everton‘s Idrissa Gueye are also mentioned as candidates but, bizarrely, it is claimed Liverpool’s No. 3 “would be cheaper.”
Assessing the situation on Twitter, French football writer Matt Spiro went further to suggest that while he “doubts Liverpool will let Fabinho go in January,” those of the belief that “everything’s OK here [are] being very naive”:
Doubt #LFC will let Fabinho go in Jan, but anybody thinking everything's ok here is being very naive. The 'he needs time to adapt to English football' rhetoric is nonsense. He's more than ready, has been for months, and can't be happy starting just 6 league games
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) December 21, 2018
Spiro furthers his ‘argument’ by pointing to Fabinho‘s six starts out of a possible 17 in the Premier League so far, dismissing the notion of a slow adjustment under Jurgen Klopp as mere “rhetoric” and “nonsense.”
“He’s more than ready, has been for months, and can’t be happy starting just six league games,” he adds.
Strangely, he overlooks how those six starts in the English top flight have come in the last eight games, fully supporting Klopp’s assertion that the 25-year-old needed time to settle into the side.
Since his first league start of the campaign in the 4-1 mauling of Cardiff City at the end of October, the only midfielder named in the Liverpool lineup more often has been Gini Wijnaldum (seven).
Jordan Henderson (two), James Milner (two) and Naby Keita (two) have all been used more sparingly due to injury, and Fabinho has thrived in their absence.
Speaking after arguably his best performance since joining the Reds, in Sunday’s 3-1 win over Man United, Klopp described Fabinho as “absolutely outstanding,” before explaining why he would continue to rotate his midfielders.
“As long as we can make these changes, we will make these changes. That’s how it is,” he said.
“They have fresh legs and are fresh in the mind. Always they go for it.”
And the player himself attested in an interview with the club’s official website that he had now “got into the rhythm of the team and got used to the style of play,” crucially adding that he and his family “feel at home in Liverpool.”
Perhaps the most clear evidence that these claims from France, and Spiro’s uninformed take, in fact come from Rebeca Tavares, Fabinho‘s refreshingly outspoken wife, who took to Twitter to reinforce their stance:
Say it loud …. some newspapers have to hear it https://t.co/BTIWTbLjKX
— Rebeca Tavares (@reebecatavares) December 5, 2018
It is unlikely these stories will end here, however, but Liverpool supporters can be safe in the knowledge that Fabinho, just like Keita, is yet to fully get going at Anfield.
‘Tis the season to overlook facts in the pursuit of clicks…
Fan Comments