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EXCLUSIVE: Fabio Carvalho bites back at sporting director and lifts lid on life away from Liverpool
“I want to get 10 goals. I think that’s doable. After Friday, I’ll be halfway there!”
Fabio Carvalho is relaxed and in good spirits as he sits down exclusively with the ECHO at Hull City’s training ground in Cottingham. Meeting in the Tigers’ press conference room, the Championship club’s modest base is in complete contrast to what he would have grown accustomed to at Liverpool.
But after 18 months of very little game time, both with the Reds last season and then on loan at RB Leipzig, this latest switch has proven to be exactly what the Portuguese needed. He is back playing with a smile on his face.
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When sitting down with the ECHO, Carvalho had scored four times in 11 appearances for Hull. Fast forward a few weeks and his record now stands at nine goals (and two assists) from 19 games, with the 21-year-old on the verge of fulfilling his individual target.
The desired fifth strike ultimately remained elusive on Good Friday when Hull lost 2-0 at home to Stoke City. But he did not have to wait long, netting against bitter-rivals Leeds United in a Yorkshire derby defeat on Easter Monday.
Now heading into the final day of the regular Championship season, that remains the last time the Tigers suffered defeat. Travelling to relegation-threatened Plymouth Argyle, Hull are two points off the play-off places with Carvalho’s goals ultimately helping to keep them in the promotion hunt.
Should West Bromwich Albion slip up at home to Preston North End, the Tigers are poised to pounce. For the Liverpool loanee, that desired tenth goal is not his only target that will be on the line on the south coast.
“Yeah, I’m loving it. It’s just what it’s about, just coming in and being excited to get back out to train, to be in an environment where I’m able to improve,” Carvalho beams to the ECHO. “It’s what I’ve been asking for for the past 12-18 months and it’s what I’ve got right now, so I’m just happy.
“You can tell that I’m happy off the pitch, which translates onto the pitch. There’s nothing I can ask for better than that.
“From the players to the staff to the fans, and the owner as well, everyone is involved. I feel like you can tell through our performances and the way we play. Even when things aren’t going well, the fans always have our backs.
“That’s the most important thing. I just want to pay them back for all the trust and love that they have given me, through performances, through goals and assists, to achieve our goal which is to get promoted.”
Carvalho's 11 goal contributions have been worth 13 extra points to Hull. Yet with the majority coming against the Tigers’ promotion-rivals, they could end up meaning so much more.
He has scored against Southampton, West Brom, Leicester City and Leeds United, while he assisted in last weekend's 3-3 draw with Ipswich Town, with Norwich City the only side in the Championship’s top six not to have been on the receiving end of his decisive talents.
“I love playing against the top teams to test myself,” Carvalho concedes, when asked if he has an explanation behind such a record. “Just being able to score against them, those are games where we could have got more from the game itself, more points which is crucial and the most important thing.
“I’m just happy to be able to contribute and hopefully I can contribute more in the future.”
Having won the Championship title with Fulham in 2022, Carvalho has been here before when it comes to chasing promotion. While not the only player in Tigers camp to boast such experience, if he is one of the youngest.
But it is that previous experience in the second tier that prompted eyebrows to be raised at Carvalho’s decision to return to the Championship and sign for Hull on loan in the first place. He had spent the top half of the campaign in the Champions League and at the top end of the Bundesliga, after all, having stepped up with Liverpool following that first promotion last season, prior to his Anfield experience taking a backwards step.
It might be something of a surprise to see Carvalho in such surroundings as a result. But he provides a bullish, yet also mature, retort for anyone wishing to pass judgement on his latest career choice.
“To be fair I knew people were going to say, ‘is this the right move for him?’” he conceded. “People are always going to speak, regardless of what I do.
“Not just me in general, any other footballer, regardless of what we do, whether it is good or bad decisions that we make. People are always going to have an opinion.
“But I don’t really care what people have to say. I’m just going to do what I think is best for me and I’m going to make my own decisions. Then I can’t blame anyone else, if I make my own decisions.
“I’m not going to allow someone to make those decisions for me or to have an influence or impact on my career. It was my decision, I’m happy that I’m here and I’m happy that I made that decision.”
While confident throughout our interview, it is an admission that stands out firmly against Carvalho's softly-spoken demeanour. There is no ‘snobbery’ here from a player who has clearly fully bought in at Hull and is determined to help them win promotion.
He continued: “We have not just me but we have players who have been promoted before, from League One to the Championship. We have players with that experience regardless of their age.
“Like myself, I’m still a young player but I’ve got a fair bit of experience, but I can always get better and I can always learn more. We’ve got players who have played in the game a long time like Billy Sharp, Lewis Coyle.
“We’ve got a lot of experienced players and then we’ve got a mixture as well of young players with young talent, fresh, wanting to show things and wanting to prove a point. Having a mixture of both helps the team and will help us get where we want to get to.”
Should Hull City book a play-off place on Saturday and go on to win promotion back to the Premier League, they will be interested in bringing Carvalho back to the club next season. Executive vice-chairman Tan Kesler has already confirmed as much.
However, while flattered by such an admission, Carvalho has already admitted elsewhere in our interview that he has no intention of giving up on his Liverpool career just yet.
“I’m flattered but we’ll see what happens,” he responds when Kesler’s comments are put to him. “I’m just focused on where I am, which is here right now. Whatever happens in the future, I’ll leave it to God.”
Regardless of where Carvalho is playing his football next season, his move to Hull was certainly an unexpected coup. With fellow Liverpool loanee Tyler Morton already enjoying a successful temporary stint with the club, and partnered in midfield by former Fulham star Jean Michael Seri, the pair played a big role in the Portuguese’s decision to drop down a division.
“Tyler and Mika (Seri), I spoke to them on the same day, literally one after the other,” he revealed. “Then I spoke to the manager.
“Obviously Mika and Tyler were always going to say good things about the club but I know those two personally and I knew they wouldn’t lie to me. If they didn’t think it was the right place for me to come, they would tell me.
“That wasn’t the case, and when I spoke to the manager, he relayed what they were saying. We just clicked instantly and I just knew it was a no-brainer to come here.”
Carvalho concedes he feels like he is making up for lost time at Hull, after his initial temporary move to RB Leipzig did not go to plan.
While he made 15 appearances for the German outfit, he started just once apiece in the Bundesliga and Champions League. Limited to 360 minutes of action, the youngster was an unused substitute on 10 occasions.
It was a peculiar situation Carvalho found himself in, given that RB Leipzig had been so desperate to sign him last summer. They only settled on a loan move after Liverpool made it clear they had no interest in offloading the player permanently.
“I feel like I’m making up for lost time,” he admitted. “It’s football, you’re not always going to get what you want.
“You’re not always going to be at the bottom, but you’re not always going to be at the top. There are always going to be ups and downs and you just have to fight through, show your perseverance and show your resilience. That’s what I’m trying to do.
“Obviously they (RB Leipzig) were very keen on it. I just wanted to play football. They put in a plan that I liked, before they signed all of the other players.
“That was the reason why I went there, because there was a plan and a purpose to go. Regardless of whether they wanted me on a permanent move or a loan. In the end, a loan was what was agreed. That’s all I have to say on it.
“If I’m being honest with you, I don’t think I got a clear chance or as many chances as other players did. Obviously there was a lot of competition in my position, which I don’t mind.
“I feel that’s the only way we’re going to improve, the same way there’s competition here (at Hull). It brings out the best of the best players.
“But I felt like I wasn’t given the same chances that other players were given. That’s fine, obviously they got their chance first and they took it which is absolutely normal. That’s just football.
“I still learnt a lot from the coaches and the players, playing in the Bundesliga and playing in the Champions League. I’ve learnt a lot from my time there and I’m grateful to them for everything that they did for me. But now I’m here and this is what I’m focussed on.”
It does feel that Carvalho is alluding to previous comments from RB Leipzig sporting director Rouven Schroder with such an answer, after he had suggested the forward did not have the stomach to fight for his place and cope with the competition for places at the club.
When that is put to him, he doubles down when reflecting on Liverpool’s decision to recall him ahead of the January transfer window.
“He can go back and watch training and then there’ll be an answer!” Carvalho responds. “I had conversations with the people at Liverpool and we decided that it was best to recall me.
“To be fair it was kind of a no-brainer (to cancel the loan) because I wasn’t playing! It just doesn’t really make sense what their sporting director said because they tried to do everything to keep me, so that doesn’t really make sense.”
Liverpool have remained in contact with Carvalho during both of his temporary moves away. There have been text messages from Jurgen Klopp and other members of the Reds hierarchy, with the club continuing to make sure he still feels wanted at Anfield.
“Yeah (they have been in touch), especially before I came here,” he reveals. “Obviously in that transition when I was going from Leipzig to here. A lot.
“Matt Newbury, the gaffer himself has dropped me a few messages, the sporting directors, the owner as well - they’ve been in contact with me which I appreciate because it shows that I’m still part of their plans.
“That’s what you want from your club, wherever you’re on loan. You want to be shown love and you want to be shown that you’re wanted. That’s the most important thing.”
With the regular Championship season now coming to a close, Carvalho’s time at Hull City is nearly at an end. But with a play-off place still in his sights, he’ll be looking to delay his Liverpool return a little while longer yet.
