Liverpool’s scouts were right again as reported transfer target explodes with 11 assists this season – RTK View

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Liverpool’s scouts appear to have gotten things right once again as Fabio Vieira enjoys a breakout season. The playmaker is thriving.

Go back to last summer and you’ll see reports linking Liverpool with a young Portuguese playmaker. No, not Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho but Fabio Vieira.

Correio da Manha were just one outlet linking the Reds, who liked what they saw from the FC Porto man. What they saw, however, wasn’t necessarily at Porto.

Vieira had barely played first-team football by that point, struggling to find a way into the team. In fact, he’d started just five league games in the previous two season – a difficult position for a 21-year-old.

And yet, Liverpool supposedly liked Vieira regardless. They will have seen his efforts for Portugal’s Under 21s where he won Best Player at the Euros last summer. They’ll have talked to people in the know and come to an understanding that Vieira was a player to court.

Despite his lack of minutes, the scouts clearly thought there was something here.

Now, of course, Liverpool didn’t get their hands on him. The £17m price-tag, per CM, almost certainly played into that – it’s a lot of money for someone with little senior football.

But as we near one year on, it seems Liverpool were in the right. Vieira looks like a hell of a player.

Liverpool like Fabio Vieira

Vieira only has 1011 minutes in the Primeira Liga this season, per Whoscored. That equates to a little over 11 full 90s – not exactly a lot of football, though an upgrade on previous years.

So consider that alongside his numbers in the league: 11 assists and six goals.

Vieira is essentially averaging an assist every 90 minutes and a goal every 180 minutes. Those are incredible numbers and suggests Liverpool were absolutely right to track the youngster last summer. We hope they’re still doing so.

Now, Vieira almost certainly won’t cost £17m anymore – Porto will want a small fortune. His explosion is another win for Liverpool’s scouts, though, even if the club didn’t end up paying the money.

But we’ll see how things go from here. Vieira looks like a special talent and one Liverpool should absolutely keep in mind going forward.