By David Lynch, Merseyside Correspondent

23rd Jun, 2023 | 7:51am

Sources: Liverpool star Fabio Carvalho in talks over RB Leipzig loan

Liverpool forward Fabio Carvalho is closing in on a season-long loan move to RB Leipzig, sources have told Football Insider.

The 20-year-old will spend the upcoming campaign in Germany as he looks to put a frustrating debut year at Anfield behind him.

But the finer details of the switch – including whether an option to buy will be included – have yet to be finalised.

Football Insider revealed last month (May 29) that Carvalho was prepared to reluctantly accept a permanent departure from Anfield after being informed that he was not part of Jurgen Klopp’s plans for the upcoming season.

Yet, despite the player’s struggle for minutes since arriving from Fulham 12 months ago, it emerged that Liverpool were reluctant to lose him on a permanent basis this summer.

The Merseyside club rejected a bid worth in excess of £10m from Leipzig prior to the end of the season, and had hoped that he might instead agree a loan to a fellow Premier League side in order to gain further experience.

West Ham United, Brentford and Burnley were among the teams to have enquired over a potential temporary deal in recent months.

However, Carvalho is understood to have hardboured concerns over whether he would earn regular minutes after making such a move, particularly in the event that a difficult season ensued for any of those clubs.

As such, his preference remained a move to Germany, with Leipzig appealing in particular thanks to their involvement in the Champions League.

Carvalho is now close to getting his wish, and will hope to prove his worth after enduring a difficult season at Liverpool following his arrival in a £7.5m deal a year ago.

The Portugal-born forward clocked up just 342 minutes of Premier League action as he struggled to force his way into the starting XI on a regular basis.

But his response to that lack of involvement delighted his manager Klopp, who recently said: “The thing is, this was not Fabio’s best year in his career, clear, in a young career, but it might’ve been his most important. No player has impressed me more than Fabio.

“That’s the truth, because this very talented boy came here with big dreams and big expectations. It was OK in the beginning, but it didn’t work out in the end. His work ethic will give him a fantastic career because he trained getting nothing, and for a player you have only one present each week: you line me up, if you don’t do that, take me in the squad.

“It’s my only chance to satisfy a player. If I don’t do that, it’s about the player and how he reacts and his reactions in a row, I never saw before. Unbelievable. I’m not sure if he goes on loan, or whatever, if we keep him, we will see that.”

It now remains to be seen if Carvalho can do enough during his stay in the Bundesliga to force his way into Klopp’s plans for next season.

In other news, Chelsea have opened talks to sign two top Liverpool targets.