With two-thirds of Liverpool’s midfield failing to shine in Saturday’s battling 2-1 win at Leicester City, it was almost inevitable that there would be a clamour from some supporters for summer recruit Fabinho to be brought into the side sooner rather than later.

Jurgen Klopp, however, is seemingly in no hurry to throw his £43.7 million signing from Monaco in at the deep end, and he’s absolutely right not to do so. The Brazilian can’t even make the substitutes bench at present, let alone the starting lineup. Eyebrows have been raised at that, but it makes perfect sense.nfl nike jerseys for cheap

Klopp can only name 18 players, and he has six midfield players competing for three spots — seven if you count the versatile Swiss army knife Xherdan Shaqiri, who might prove to be a useful midfield option based on his showings in preseason. They can’t all be involved, so someone has to miss out, and it’s hardly surprising that it’s the man least familiar with the system.

Why should Fabinho just walk straight into a side that reached the Champions League final last season? What has he done to deserve a spot ahead of James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum or the skipper Jordan Henderson? The answer is nothing. That’s why he’s also behind Adam Lallana and Naby Keita. For the moment, at least.

Just because Fabinho cost a lot of money doesn’t mean he has to play immediately, and just because he isn’t playing immediately shouldn’t make anybody question the wisdom of the signing. There are some managers out there who would not be brave enough to sit such an expensive signing, but price tags are irrelevant to Klopp.

There is plenty of time for Fabinho to make his mark, and being held back until he is ready will do him no harm. In fact, it should help him. It certainly helped others, including Andrew Robertson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The Reds are in a strong position currently, which means that Klopp has the luxury of being patient with Fabinho. That patience paid off last year with both Robertson and Oxlade-Chamberlain, both of whom needed time to learn the intricacies and nuances of Klopp’s system before they were unleashed on unsuspecting opponents.

Robertson may have been ready long before his opportunity eventually came along, but the newly announced Scotland captain had to wait until Alberto Moreno suffered an ankle injury in December before getting a run in the team. He’s been an automatic selection ever since.nike nfl jerseys wholesale cheap

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s situation was a little different. He was eased into it gradually with some appearances off the bench and the occasional start in cup competitions. Initially he was mostly deployed in the somewhat less complex wide position, but when he was fully versed in Liverpool’s high press, he was given the opportunity to play in the midfield role he had always wanted. He was positively thriving until suffering an injury in March.

Perhaps like Robertson, Fabinho will also have to bide his time and wait for someone to get injured. That’s a throwback to how it used to be when the Reds were at their most successful back in the ’70s and ’80s. New signings would often not be seen for months, sometimes even years.