Liverpool summer signing Fabinho looks better as a centre-back than he does in midfield, according to pundit Garth Crooks.
The Brazil international got off to a slow start at Anfield after a summer switch from Monaco, but has become more of a regular in Jurgen Klopp’s side of late.
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However, after some impressive midfield performances, Fabinho was moved into defence by Klopp at the weekend as the Reds earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over Brighton.
Fabinho’s performance was so good that he’s earned his place in Crooks’ Premier League team of the week on BBC Sport, and has earned big praise from the pundit.
Interestingly, however, Crooks believes the 24-year-old should continue to play at centre-back instead of his usual midfield role, despite this likely only being an emergency measure due to the club’s injury problems at the back.
Joe Gomez has been out for a while and Dejan Lovren also missed the Brighton game, but Fabinho arguably looks a more assured option than the latter.
‘This player (Fabinho) has become a far more important addition to the Liverpool set-up than I first realised,’ Crooks said.
‘The Brazilian enforcer looks better at centre-back than he does in midfield. At least that’s how it appeared against a Brighton side who made life difficult for the league leaders but struggled to really hurt them.
‘When there was the slightest threat, Fabinho snuffed it out. His positioning throughout the match was quite impressive. Any more displays like that and Dejan Lovren might have to start looking for new employers.’