This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Former Liverpool man Steve Nicol believes Fabinho is currently the best player in the league in his position, surpassing the likes of Fernandinho and Rodri in that regard.
What did he say?
Fabinho signed from Monaco for £43.7m in 2018 and has now started to become a mainstay in the Liverpool side. The Brazilian played 28 times in the league last year but has started nine out of 10 games this season in the top-flight.
In this time, Fabinho has established himself as one of the best around, averaging 2.5 tackles per league game and helping the club stay six points clear of Manchester City.
Nicol told ESPN FC (as cited by the Daily Express): “For years we’ve been talking about Fernandinho being the best defensive midfielder.
“I’ll tell you what, I’d argue now whether Fabinho right now is better than anybody else in the Premier League in that position.
“Defensively he’s always in the right place at the right time and more importantly, when you play the way Liverpool do and you want to get after teams and get men forward and get people in the box, one of the most important things is when the ball’s knocked out of the box that you’re not having to chase 30 and 40 and 50 yards back.
“And with him there he always seems to be in the right place to either intercept something or to actually make a challenge and stop the opposition getting out.
“Just exactly what Fernandinho has been doing for the last three or four years in the Premier League.”
Fabinho setting the standard
Both the Brazilian’s do differ slightly in their roles for their respective teams – Fernandinho is certainly more dynamic and Fabinho is more of a playmaking defensive midfielder.
However, this season the Liverpool man has set a standard that the likes of Rodri must look up to and surpass. Fabinho has one assist so far and has been part of a midfield that has helped the Reds to concede just eight goals – the best defensive record in the division.
The former Monaco man has set the new standard for holding midfielders in the Premier League and, with a £63m price-tag on his back, Rodri needs to hit the standard set by his fellow compatriot to justify the significant summer outlay.
Certainly, at 34, Fernandinho does not have long left at the club. Rodri was seemingly signed as a long term replacement for the Brazilian and has already looked impressive with his 7.54 rating in the Premier League.