Liverpool prioritising giving Brazilian midfielder Fabinho a new contract, with the player also reciprocating the admiration

Liverpool prioritising giving Brazilian midfielder Fabinho a new contract, with the player also reciprocating the admiration

Soccer Football - Champions League - Group D - Liverpool v FC Midtjylland - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - October 27, 2020 Liverpool's Fabinho with manager Juergen Klopp after being substituted after sustaining an injury Pool via REUTERS/Michael Regan

Fabinho was the first signing Liverpool made after the 2018 Champions League final as they seeked to end their title of perennial underachievers. Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool was a work in progress and over the seasons they made vital signings to plug the squad’s deficiencies. For a long time, they had been lacking a player like Xabi Alonso-who could break down attacks and make precise passes. Fabinho was the one who was signed to be their next Alonso and he has delivered it spectacularly.

Fabinho has been the difference the whole season and Klopp realized it late

Fabinho has been really vital to Liverpool since the 2018/19 season and keeps proving it with his performances

Over the season, Liverpool have lost Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip to season ending injuries and used Fabinho as back-up. The midfielder was reliable as a centre-back, but he was needed more in midfield as he was akin to Patrick Vieira. His absence in the midfield hindered Thiago’s advanced movements and made the defence vulnerable too. As a result, Liverpool dropped to 8th place in the Premier League and looked set to not qualify for the Champions League next season.

However Jurgen Klopp took a risk and moved Fabinho to midfield and created a new defensive duo of Nathaniel Phillips and Ozan Kabak. This new formation debuted in the second leg against RB Leipzig in the Champions League and Liverpool played like the champions they were. Against Wolves also the same formation was used and Liverpool won against them 1-0. Liverpool were a lot more defensively stable and were more creative too.

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This is why Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool are highly admiring of Fabinho and want to give him a new contract. The midfielder has a contract until 2023, and it will definitely be a wise move to open contract talks with him. The club might want to avoid the fiasco they had with Gini Wijnaldum and might want to sign Fabinho for the long term as quick as they can. The player is also highly interested in the Liverpool project and is willing to commit his future to the club.

It’s all in Liverpool’s hands now to sign Fabinho followed by Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk for the future.

Also read: Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane believes Liverpool fixture to be a tough one