Jürgen Klopp explained why only circumstances have prevented Fabinho from making his Liverpool debut as he insisted the plan is for the Brazilian to make the team better.
The summer signing has yet to feature for the Reds since the season started as the manager kept faith with a settled side in winning four successive games before the international break.
But at his preview for Saturday’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur, Klopp opened up on the factors involved in the situation and stressed his belief in Fabinho’s potential.
“I don’t like to compare players but, to be honest, we had similar questions and similar things to talk about around Robbo and about Ox,” said the boss.
“The thing is, it’s absolutely no problem. I don’t like the situation; it’s not that I like to say to Fabinho, who is full of energy and desire and wants to be involved, ‘you are not involved this weekend’. That’s not nice, it’s only the job to do sometimes.
“We have players that worked together now for much longer; he comes from another league, a completely different system which Monaco played, to us. We have a good team together so that takes time.
“But the plan was, and is still, that he will make us better. That’s what we are working on. That sometimes needs more time, sometimes a bit less.
“From my point of view, it’s all fine. I know the situation is not like maybe a few people would have expected but sorry, I cannot change that.”