Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave Liverpool is unlikely to have many benefits to the club.
The Reds have been hugely successful under the manager and have seen themselves restored to Europe’s group of elite teams.
Although there is excitement over what Arne Slot could bring to the table, he has a huge job on his hands to replicate Klopp.
Nevertheless, there are always two sides to every coin and there are a few, mainly loan players who may find the German’s exit to be a blessing in disguise.
For most of the Reds’ loan army, there appeared no way into the Liverpool squad from here. But Klopp’s departure opens up a possibility.
Fabio Carvalho makes Liverpool admission
One of those hoping to force his way into the Liverpool first-team under Slot will be Fabio Carvalho.
Much had been expected of the 21-year-old when he joined the Reds in 2022. By his own admission, Carvalho hoped to win the Ballon d’Or one day.
However, although there were some promising flashes – including a memorable last-gasp winner against Newcastle – it soon became clear that the former Fulham youngster was a long way from being a potential best player in the world.
Unable to make a proper mark at Anfield, Carvalho made a good-looking move to RB Leipzig last summer. Again, the Portugal U21 star couldn’t find his feet though, and since joined Hull City.
Back in the Championship, Carvalho rediscovered his spark. There should certainly now be hope that his story isn’t finished at Liverpool. It’s clear he needs confidence to thrive though, and speaking to The Mirror, Carvalho has admitted that he simply didn’t have it while at Liverpool.
“If I’m being honest, when I was there my confidence was low,” he says. “I was playing five minutes here and there and it wasn’t enough. Then when I did step on the pitch I didn’t really know what I was doing because my confidence was [gone].”
What went wrong with Fabio Carvalho
Looking back, Carvalho’s move was a little bit of a strange one. He is clearly something of a natural No.10 and Klopp’s Liverpool never played with one, or at least not for years.
Already without a clear position, Carvalho was always going to struggle to claw his way back from the beginning.
When he did play, the Hull loanee was often shunted out onto the left wing. Not quick or physical enough to play there, Carvalho struggled.
Perhaps the idea was to re-train him as a midfielder. Klopp’s one-on-one defensive sessions with his player would suggest this was potentially the case. But again, Carvalho didn’t take to it.
Back in January 2023, Jamie Carragher suggested that the youngster simply wasn’t a ‘Klopp player.’ Let’s hope that with Jurgen now riding into the sunset, Slot will get a better tune out of a newly-confident Carvalho.