Jürgen Klopp on Fabinho's evolution and rotation
Jürgen Klopp analysed Fabinho’s evolution into a mainstay in his Liverpool team while confirming that the midfielder will be rested at some point this season.
Brazil international Fabinho has started 13 of the Reds’ 15 matches to date in 2019-20, with his only break from a matchday squad coming when he was omitted for last month’s Carabao Cup win over MK Dons.
This time a year ago, the No.3 was a couple of days away from making his first Premier League start for the club, with his full top-flight debut arriving at home to Cardiff City on October 27, 2018.
Since then, Fabinho has established himself as a cornerstone of Klopp’s side, and his manager has discussed the importance of the 26-year-old to his set-up.
“The Genk game was a good example for that - [he was] very important, very important. It was clear it will not be perfectly tuned with Ox and Naby around because they didn’t play a lot together in this formation, but it’s a possible formation for sure,” the boss said.
“Fabi had a lot to do to sort some little gaps which we left open in different situations. So yes, the job of the No.6 in modern football is incredibly important and the more offensive players there are around you, the more important it gets. But he’s not only a gap-closer, a challenger or whatever, he is a very good footballer as well.
“I’m sure that the next player we sign, when he is not playing at any time, not playing from the first minute, then we will have the same conversations when you ask me ‘what about him, why is he not playing, does he need time?’ and all that stuff. Then maybe I remind you that Fabinho needed time.
“That a player doesn’t see it like this I can 100 per cent understand, and that outside everybody’s excited and doesn’t want it [to be like this] I can understand but it is still like this, you cannot change it. You know in the beginning I thought we had to change the system to a ‘double six’ midfield that he was used to at Monaco.
“In that game [against Genk] he played pretty much as the only midfielder in some moments! He just needed time. It was his birthday [on Wednesday] and what is he? Twenty-six? So that’s 10 more proper years at least so there’s a lot to come and he can improve a lot as well, and that’s all good.
“It’s a very interesting period for him and for us and so far he did really well.”
On whether Fabinho will require ‘protection’ from burn-out during the campaign, Klopp continued: “We can, we can. He flies only in the international breaks, he doesn’t play, that’s pretty much how it is. So he is somewhere but he is not playing.
“Two others are playing both games, for example Gini and Hendo played both games for Holland and England, he didn’t play so that makes a difference obviously.
“But yes there will be a moment when we have to think about that [resting him], 100 per cent. But we have replacements: Gini can play the position really, really good and Hendo played it for a long time and can play it really, really good, so that’s all OK.”