Fabinho Al-Ittihad Transfer (Unfortunately) Not on Hold Due to Dogs

Liverpool midfielder Fabinho left training last week and wasn’t included in the travelling squad for the German and Singapore phases of pre-season after the player had his head turned by interest from Al-Ittihad and the Reds agreed a £40M transfer fee.

Over the weekend, though, reports emerged suggesting there could be a problem: Fabinho’s French Bulldogs. While Saudi law only prohibits the import of breeds considered dangerous—which French Bulldogs very much are not—there was the suggestion that he might not be able to bring his pets with him.

Sadly, though, rumours of the deal falling apart over a pair of dogs appear to have been overstated, as Brazil’s O Globo reached out to the player to clarify the matter and were told that there is no problem there and it is only general bureaucratic delays holding things up.

The player’s dogs are apparently not the issue and have never been, and with both the player and Liverpool satisfied by what Al-Ittihad is offering, the Brazilian outlet believe the deal will go through as expecged sooner rather than later.

However, while reports seem bullish in Fabinho’s homeland, The Athletic are claiming that those unspecified bureaucratic delays could in fact be rather serious—enough to put the deal in doubt and potentially see the player re-join Liverpool training on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, after spending the past week evaluating their options to replace the veteran holding midfielder, and it appears that Liverpool intend to push ahead with their efforts to sign 19-year-old Southampton midfielder Roméo Lavia despite his relative inexperience.