Liverpool legend Jan Molby has backed summer signing Fabinho to settle at Anfield and compared the Brazilian to himself when he first arrived at the club.
The Reds spent £43.7million on the 24-year-old midfielder, but he has only made one start so far for the club as Jurgen Klopp allows him time to adapt to his new surroundings.
Molby has now delivered his verdict on the struggling Fabinho after he started in Liverpool’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
In a column for the Liverpool Echo, he said: “In terms of Fabinho, who was making his full debut since his summer move from Monaco, the nearest I can compare him to is when I first moved to Liverpool . The defensive midfielder hasn’t featured so far in the Premier League with Klopp keen to get him used to how his team to play and I went through something similar myself.
“I came to a new league where things, for a while, appeared to be going on around me and I felt like I couldn’t quite get involved. But that takes time and only time and games can cure that.
“So it might take time before he we see him at his best and he needs to get into these situations more, but having done what he did with Monaco – and he is a bright footballer too, don’t forget – he will get to grips with it, I’ve no doubts about that.”
OPINION
It is interesting to hear someone compare a player to themselves, but you can see where Molby is coming from here. The former Denmark international may have gone on to become a favourite at Anfield, but the start to his career in England was pretty slow. The vast majority of his first season was a disappointment, with the Reds failing to win a major trophy for the first time in a while, and things only changed when Kenny Dalglish decided to place his faith in the enforcer. Liverpool fans will be hoping the same doesn’t happen this season with Fabinho, with everyone at the club desperate for some kind of silverware this season. It may be that Fabinho ends up only playing a minor role considering the competition in midfield, but as long as that success comes, then that is all that matters. Hopefully they can return to form with a win against Chelsea this weekend.
