Fabio Carvalho’s ambition was called into question after his loan spell at RB Leipzig ended, with his sporting director stating that he “didn’t want to face competition.”
Now that Carvalho is at Hull City in the Championship, his failure in the Bundesliga has come under scrutiny.
There were high hopes for the Portuguese upon joining Leipzig, but shortly after his arrival, the opportunity arose for Xavi Simons to join him from Paris Saint-Germain.
Simons, who is also on loan, scored six goals and nine assists in 25 games in the first half of the season, while Carvalho was limited to just 360 minutes in 15 appearances.
And ahead of Leipzig’s return to competitive action against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, sporting director Rouven Schroder explained the decision to cancel his loan.
Speaking to reporters, including RB Live, Schroder stated that Carvalho “didn’t want to face the competition.”
“We consciously chose Fabio last summer,” he explained.
“He had a great season with Fulham in the English second division, which is very physical. We told ourselves: great talent, good age, he already has experience.
“Still, you only get to know a player as a final product when he is there.
“Fabio has a great character. But he realized: “Well, here is a competitor, I have to do more!” And we noticed that he did not want to face the competition.”
Leipzig initially seemed reluctant to accept an early termination of Carvalho’s loan, with Schroder himself insisting that he will “get his playing time”.
“We want the child to scratch and bite,” he added.
But his stance clearly changed amid talks with Carvalho and Liverpool, and if Schroder is to be believed, that may be because the midfielder is unwilling to “scratch and bite” for a place.
“We asked ourselves the question: Are we more comfortable with another man or are we clear and direct and say ‘listen, if you don’t want to go with us, then we’ll cancel the loan’?” continued on Friday.
“You shouldn’t be afraid of a breakup.”
This is not the first time Carvalho’s attitude has been scrutinized, with his decision to reject a Portugal U21 call-up via text message upsetting coach Rui Jorge in 2022.
However, Hull City manager Liam Rosenior has praised the 21-year-old’s character and the hope is that this will become a reality in the second half of the season.
