Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool player has got so much better and now wants to play more

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Jurgen Klopp has paid tribute to the improvement of Fabio Carvalho since he joined Liverpool and admitted he wants to play more.

Carvalho was not in the squad for Monday night’s 2-0 Merseyside derby win over Everton, and has not made a Premier League appearance since November, as per Transfermarkt.

That was just a three minute cameo, and he has not made a league start since the 1-0 loss against Nottingham Forest in October.

Speaking ahead of this afternoon’s game with Newcastle, Klopp was asked about Carvalho and said that the midfielder is coping well with his lack of gametime.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp on Fabio Carvalho

“Fabio is a very young player as well, big talent, absolutely, played well for us in a couple of games,” said Klopp.

“Now it’s a situation we have to make a squad and he couldn’t make it for the last one – that’s how it is, that’s the truth, didn’t play too often because, from my point of view, we needed different skills when we started or when we changed during the games.

“That’s pretty much all, he did nothing wrong, he improved a lot, he developed a lot, he’s a good kid and he’s in the middle of the group, in the middle of the team.

“That’s all fine but obviously [he’s] not in a happy place in the moment – I cannot see that in the pitch, or when I see him, it’s not really obvious, but I can imagine because he’s a footballer [and] he wants to play and didn’t play often enough.

“That doesn’t help a lot but that’s another thing in a long career [that] you have to go through. For me, it looks in the moment that he takes it as good as somehow possible.”

Carvalho has huge talent and has shown it at times for Liverpool but it has not been an ideal first season for him at Anfield.

If he was coming into the settled and successful team which nearly won the quadruple last season, it might have been much easier for Carvalho to shine.

But there has been an alarming drop-off at Anfield this term, which makes it harder for youngsters to get gametime and shine.