Liverpool journalist James Pearce has been talking about Reds midfielder Fabinho and his role in the squad this season.
This comes after Pearce recently made an appearance on The Athletic’s Liverpool-themed podcast The Red Agenda where he spoke about a number of topics concerning the Merseyside club.
On the subject of Liverpool’s defensive options in the wake of Virgil van Dijk’s serious knee injury, Pearce was asked if Fabinho could fill in at centre-back if needed.
In response, Pearce said: “I think we’re going to see Fabinho playing centre-half a lot this season. I also think he probably is more of a dominant figure than either [Joe] Gomez or [Joel] Matip. I thought he played exceptionally well there down at Stamford Bridge in the win over Chelsea.
“The only concern for me is the knock-on effect of that on Liverpool’s midfield because I thought Fabinho was exceptional in the derby at the weekend [against Everton] I thought he absolutely bossed that battle with Allan.”
Liverpool signed Fabinho back in the 2018 summer transfer window from French club AS Monaco for a fee of £40.5 million.
Since then, the Brazilian, who is currently valued at £54 million, has made a total of 87 appearances for the Reds, ahead of their Champions League clash against Ajax, across all competitions in which he has managed to score three goals and provide seven assists along the way.
During his time at Liverpool, Fabinho has played in the centre-back position on five occasions, winning three, drawing one and losing one (per Transfermarkt).
As Pearce mentioned in the podcast, Fabinho played in the centre-back position in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League back in September.
During this game at Stamford Bridge, Fabinho earned himself an impressive match rating of 7.44/10 (per WhoScored).
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TIF Thoughts on James Pearce’s comments on Fabinho playing in the centre-back position…
With Van Dijk out through injury, it’s good that Liverpool have the option to play Fabinho as a centre-back if they need him to.
Given how well he played in that position against Chelsea earlier in the season, the club should have no worries about playing him there in the future if needed.