Arne Slot spotted 'spending a lot of time' working with one Liverpool youngster
Liverpool held an open training session on Sunday and Arne Slot was seen working closely with one forgotten Red.
Liverpool are in the USA right now as they continue their pre-season tour. That got off to a solid start during the week as the Reds beat Real Betis 1-0.
But that's just a taster of what's to come, of course. Arne Slot can't possibly have his team playing his system just yet - that'll take practice.
And fans could see exactly what that entails during the open training session on Sunday. The Daily Mail's Lewis Steele noticed that it sometimes involved Slot paying attention to particular players - one of whom isn't even guaranteed a spot in the squad.
"Arne Slot very hands-on here and spending a lot of time with Fabio Carvalho," he wrote on Twitter/X.
Fabio Carvalho at Liverpool
Carvalho is something of a forgotten man at Anfield. His debut campaign led to far fewer opportunities than planned as Liverpool's team malfunctioned and Jurgen Klopp fell back on the players he knew.
Season two was supposed to see Carvalho get back on track with RB Leipzig on loan but it was an absolute disaster. Leipzig gave him under 180 Bundesliga minutes across the first six months of the season and the loan was cancelled prematurely.
Carvalho then dropped back down into the Championship with Hull City and, thankfully, found his feet again. The Portuguese playmaker caught the eye in a late Play-Off charge and it means he's heading into his campaign with a bit of momentum.
Not only that, but most of the first-team stars are absent after international tournaments. It gives Carvalho a chance to impress Slot and force his way into Liverpool's plans.
It sounds as though he might be on his way to doing that, if Slot has seen it necessary to pay extra attention to Carvalho. If he can take on board what the head coach is saying, then perhaps he's got a genuine shot at the squad this season.
It would certainly mark a fantastic turnaround if he's able to do that - so let's see if he takes his chance.