Rouven Schroder has called into question Fabio Carvalho’s willingness to overcome competition at RB Leipzig during his ill-fated loan spell in Germany.
The Portuguese player enjoyed only a meagre supply of minutes in the German top-flight, with the Reds ending the loan.
“He had a great season with Fulham in the English second division, which is very physical. We said to ourselves: great talent, good age, has already gained his experience,” the RB Leipzig sporting director told reporters at a presser cited by Sport Witness.
“Still, you only get to know a player as an end product when he’s there. Fabio has a great character. But he realized: ‘Okay, there’s a competitor here, I have to do more!’ And we noticed that he didn’t want to face the competition.”
“We asked ourselves the question: Do we feel more comfortable with a man or are we clear and straight and say: Listen, if you don’t want to go with us, then we’ll end the loan. You shouldn’t be afraid of a break-off.”
The 21-year-old has since linked up with fellow Anfield loanee Tyler Morton at Hull City.
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Bit contradicting there…
How on earth you can praise a footballer’s ‘great character’ and, in the same breath, accuse them of being unwilling ‘to face the competition’ is beyond us.
Ultimately, it’s clearly best for both parties that Carvalho has been retrieved from his loan spell and placed in a side actually committed to his development.
The former Fulham man played the full 90 minutes of Hull’s 2-1 defeat to Norwich City, with Morton scoring a spectacular late consolation goal.
Here’s to fresh beginnings for the attacking midfielder and hopefully an upward curve he can ride going into pre-season in 2024/25.