January 2019 could conceivably called the strangest month of Fabinho’s career. Yet he navigated it superbly to take The Tomkins Times’ player of the month award by a landslide. He was over 300 votes clear in total, and his average of 189 votes per appearance is the joint-highest by any player in any month this season.

Or at least, it’s the most by any player with more than one appearance. A certain Ki-Jana Hoever picked up 333 votes for his substitute showing in the FA Cup at Wolves. And that plays a huge part in why January was so unusual for Liverpool’s Brazilian midfielder. The match at Molineux was Fabinho’s first ever start at centre-back in an almost 300 game professional career. To do that away from home against a top half Premier League club would be tricky enough. However, having to do so while alongside a 16 year old player making his debut is quite remarkable.

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