'No decision' made yet on Fabio Carvalho loan recall

The future of Liverpool midfielder Fabio Carvalho remains up in the air amid reports that the Reds have been contemplating recalling him from his loan spell at RB Leipzig.

The 21-year-old only joined the Bundesliga club on a season-long deal in June, but has failed to nail down a regular starting berth.

The Reds' assistant manager, Pepijn Lijnders, when asked to comment on reports that the club was looking to cancel his loan and bring the Portuguese back to Anfield during the January transfer window, admitted that Carvalho's lack of game time was a concern: “It’s most important he finds rhythm; we all know a player with rhythm is a different player than a player without."

Just two starts

So far this season, Carvalho been limited to 14 appearances in all competitions. Only two of these have been starts: a 1-0 win away over Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga at the end of September, and last week's dead-rubber against Young Boys in the Champions League, in which he played the full 90 minutes.

Prior to his move to Germany, Carvalho made 21 appearances for Liverpool last season, bagging three goals.

Despite making a promising start during that campaign, the former Fulham man's appearances dropped off a cliff in the New Year as he found it hard to displace Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez on the left-hand side.

"He needs minutes"

Regarding Carvalho's situation, Lijnders stressed the need for Carvalho to secure minutes on the pitch: "He needs to find minutes, but it’s not up to me, it’s up to our directors to speak with the club and find the best solution for him."

"We all want the best for him because he is our player, so wait and see but no decision [has been] made about that," he concluded.

If Carvalho does indeed return to Merseyside, it's still difficult to see how his situation is likely to improve in this regard. Another loan move elsewhere would most likely have to be sought.