Fabio Carvalho is being tipped for a big role at Liverpool next season as he’s set to complete a transfer from Fulham in July.
The exciting wonderkid has really caught the eye in the Championship this term, becoming one of the most highly regarded talents in the country with his goals and assists to spear-head Fulham’s promotion to the top flight.
Carvalho looks like having a bright future in the game, and former Liverpool midfielder Michael Thomas spoke exclusively to CaughtOffside about how optimistic he is about the deal to bring him to Anfield.
Thomas rates Carvalho highly and expects that, while there’s a chance he could go out on loan, he also has it in him to earn a regular place in Jurgen Klopp’s side.
“Great move by Liverpool picking up what looks like an amazing young talent at a really good price,” Thomas said.
“He will need time as the style and level of football at Liverpool will be something he has never experienced before. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up on loan, but with players like Origi possibly leaving, he may have a chance at getting some minutes.”
Liverpool also signed Harvey Elliott from Fulham at a young age, but Thomas doesn’t necessarily view the two players as competing for the same place in the team.
“As for the competition, I see Elliot as more of a central midfield player or a 10. Although there is always going to be competition in big teams I don’t think this is a direct like for like,” Thomas added.
Thomas also took the opportunity to look ahead at how Liverpool’s incredible bid for a quadruple could end.
The former Reds star believes it’s too early to call who could come out on top between two incredibly well-matched Liverpool and Man City teams, though he stopped short of branding this rivalry the best we’ve seen in the Premier League.
“Liverpool will chase City until the very end and keep putting the pressure on,” Thomas said. “City will do well to keep their nerve in these last games, but it can be done and they will know best as they’ve done it before. Both clubs can still have a great end to the season, so there may be a lot of twists left.
“Both teams are at the peak of their powers and they fight for every trophy, year in year out. I am not sure if it is the biggest rivalry ever due to the fact that the length of the rivalry isn’t the same as the Arsenal-Man United one, but the quality both teams have make it so interesting as a spectator.
“If Liverpool win the league or the Champions League against City this year (both teams would need to make the final first obviously) then I think it certainly could go down as one of the great rivalries in sport.”