Jurgen Klopp admits Liverpool midfielder is 'not in happy place'
By Tom Gott
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted Fabio Carvalho has been frustrated with his lack of minutes at Anfield recently.
The 20-year-old joined Liverpool in the summer and has made 18 appearances for the Reds, although he has not played in the Premier League since a three-minute cameo against Southampton in the middle of November.
More recently, Carvalho has struggled to make Liverpool's matchday squad at all, and Klopp was asked about the former Fulham man's situation during his latest press conference.
"Fabio is a very young player, big talent, absolutely," the boss began. "He played well for us in a couple of games. Now it's the situation where we have to make the squad and he couldn't make it for the last one. That's how it is, that's the truth.
"He 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 in the middle of the group, in the middle of the squad.
Klopp added: "Obviously, he's not in a happy place at the moment. You cannot see that on the pitch or when I see him. It's not really obvious, but I can imagine because he's a footballer he wants to play, and he didn't play often enough.
"That cannot 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 is possible."
Comfortable in both midfield and on the wing, Carvalho has mainly been used on the left under Klopp but recent additions of both Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, coupled with Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz working their way back from their respective injuries, have limited his opportunities in attack.
Young Stefan Bajcetic has also surged up the pecking order in midfield, further impacting Carvalho's chances to impress.