Liverpool have bolstered their midfield ranks with the £40m capture of Brazilian midfielder Fabinho from Monaco.
The 24-year-old defensive midfielder, who can also play at right-back, is seen as a direct replacement for the out-of-contract Emre Can, who is expected to leave Anfield this summer.
The Reds have already agreed a club-record deal to sign RB Leipzig star Naby Keita, who will officially become a Liverpool player on 1 July.
The transfers of Fabinho and Keita help address the lack of midfield depth available to Jurgen Klopp this season, with Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner and Adam Lallana currently the only fit and available senior options – given Can’s likely departure and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s serious knee injury – in the middle of the park.
Upon signing for the Reds, Fabinho said:
“I play with a lot of intensity and I’m quite strong in man-marking. Unfortunately, occasionally I get some yellow cards for that, but I think that won’t be a problem here. I know that the type of football here is quite intense and physical, but I think I got some of that while playing in France and I hope I won’t find any problems to adapt to this league.”
The History
Fabinho’s career began with Fluminense in his native Brazil, though he left the Rio de Janeiro side without making a senior appearance.
Signing a long-term deal with Portuguese club Rio Ave in 2012, Fabinho was soon after loaned out to Real Madrid B, where he made his professional debut at the start of the 2012/13 season.
Fabinho made 30 Segunda Division appearances for RM Castilla that season, scoring twice, though his only involvement with the senior team was a 14-minute cameo in Real’s 6-2 win over Malaga towards the end of the campaign – the 19-year-old loanee setting up Angel di Maria for Madrid’s final goal.
Two years on loan at Monaco followed, before the Ligue I club made Fabinho’s move permanent in May 2015. The Brazilian made 167 league appearances for Les Monegasques in all, scoring on 23 occasions.
Fabinho also featured 38 times for Monaco in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, scoring four goals, while his Brazil bow came soon after his move to the French principality became permanent. Fabinho has four caps for the national side, though won’t be part of coach Tite’s squad in Russia this summer.
The Prospects
With Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson already to select from, and more incoming players to add to that mix, Fantasy managers will have to carefully pick and choose their Liverpool assets next season.
On the face of it, Fabinho wouldn’t be a serious candidate for one of those three permitted slots. The Brazilian’s duties will predominantly be of a defensive nature, sitting in front of the Liverpool back four and carrying out the necessary dirty work.
Only four Ligue I players who appeared in more than one fixture made more tackles per game than Fabinho (3.4) this season, while his rate of 1.7 fouls per game was the highest in the Monaco squad.
The player himself has alluded to his tendency to accumulate cautions, having picked up eight yellow cards this season and 25 overall since his switch to Monaco was made permanent three years ago. Fabinho was dribbled past more times (an average of 1.9 per game) than any of his team-mates this season, with many of his fouls occurring while chasing back and attempting to regain possession.
Fabinho has, however, never been dismissed in his senior career.
At 6’2”, Fabinho is in the rangy Patrick Vieira mould of defensive midfielder. A squad-high total of 99 aerial duels won highlights his aptitude in the air, while the more attack-minded Rony Lopes and Thomas Lemar (both 46) were the only Monaco players to make a higher number of successful dribbles (37) than Fabinho this season.
A total of 1,980 attempted passes was bettered by just five other players in Ligue I, though Fabinho only made a key pass once every 85 minutes – contrast that with the averages of Paul Pogba (55), Yohan Cabaye and Jonjo Shelvey (both 57) playing in similarly deep midfield roles this season. A total of eight assists across three seasons wouldn’t excite many Fantasy managers, either.
We are, of course, yet to discuss the main upside to Fabinho’s game: penalties. Since making his move from Rio Ave permanent in 2015, Fabinho has scored all 17 of the spot-kicks he has taken for Monaco in Ligue I.
While Fabinho would by no means be assured of penalty-taking duties at Anfield, Liverpool’s chronic failure from the spot this season – Firmino (twice), Salah and Milner have all missed from 12 yards in league or cup – would automatically stand him in good stead.
Fabinho’s goal threat from elsewhere is minimal, averaging a shot only once every 122.4 minutes. All 23 of his goals for Monaco have come from inside the area, suggesting the Brazilian midfielder is not a real threat from distance.
Having featured in at least 34 league fixtures for Monaco in each of the last four seasons, there is little concern regarding fitness or injury – an important factor as Liverpool once again fight on four fronts in 2018/19.
All in all, Fabinho’s appeal to Fantasy managers will largely boil down to whether or not he will be Liverpool’s designated penalty taker next season. The comparisons with another defensive midfielder on spot-kick duties, Luka Milivojevic, are obvious, though it is pertinent to note that, while Crystal Palace were awarded a league-high of ten penalties this season, Liverpool were given just three.
Fabinho’s penchant for a tackle and the high number of passes he makes (a success rate of 86.3% for Monaco this season) would reflect well on the Bonus Points System (BPS), though a lack of key passes and a propensity to collect yellow cards would equally dent his appeal.
5 years, 10 months ago
Off the beaten track attacking players worth thinking about in the WC IMO:
Isco - if classed as a midfielder - another with a good goal scoring record
Ozil - different player for Germany and gets goals
Werner - good goalscoring record when starting games
Di Maria - if he plays then he will get goals and assists
Fellaini - crap player IMO and yellow cards a problem, but he scores and assists for Belgium off those long balls and crosses
Welbeck - another crap player IMO, but somehow he gets goals (better to be lucky than good)
Eriksen - critical to Denmark both in terms of goals and assists
Perisic - decent goalscoring and assist record for Croatia (particularly if classed as a midfielder)
Sigurdsson - if Iceland are going to score this guy will be the man for them
Victor Moses - gets forward for Nigeria and is an attacking outlet
Grosicki - if Poland are going to get out of the group then he is going to have to keep up his assist and goalscoring record
Tadic - frustrating but plays better for Serbia than Southampton
Shaqiri - another frustrating player, but has the class to score / assist