Fulham manager Marco Silva has confirmed that teenage protege Fabio Carvalho will be leaving the club ahead of his summer switch to Liverpool.
During the last knockings of the January transfer window, Liverpool made a late charge to sign the 19-year-old from the Cottagers and had already agreed terms with the playmaker.
However, the paperwork could not be submitted in time before the 11pm deadline and the deal fell through, with Carvalho going on to further aid Fulham’s successful push back to the Premier League.
Liverpool were always expected to return for Carvalho’s signature in the summer, and the Reds reportedly reached an agreement to sign the Portugal Under-21 international last month.
The Reds are understood to be forking out a £7m fee to acquire the services of Carvalho, but an announcement will not be made until the end of the season out of respect for Fulham.
With Fulham having now wrapped up the Championship title – largely thanks to Carvalho’s contributions – Silva has announced that the youngster will not be at the club next term.
“About next season, he will not be our football player. It’s difficult for me, I can’t speak about the situation,” the Fulham boss told reporters.
“You know how I love the boy, I don’t need to repeat again. I would love to have him with me more time as well at this football club, but it’s what you can do and it’s difficult sometimes for us to accept, that is football and that’s life.
“I don’t have news about it. You ask me if I would like to keep him here, I’m 100% sure. But we will see if it would not be possible.”
Fulham have reportedly added a 20% sell-on fee into Liverpool’s Carvalho deal, and the teenager prepares to leave after scoring 10 goals and providing eight assists in 35 Championship matches this season.
Carvalho struggled with a toe injury in the autumn but has returned to play a key role in Fulham’s title charge, and he scored one and set up another in their Championship-clinching 7-0 thrashing of Luton Town on Monday.
Ahead of his final appearance for the club against Sheffield United on Saturday lunchtime, Carvalho has totalled 43 appearances for the Cottagers, registering 17 goals and 13 assists in the process.
The Portuguese playmaker made four Premier League appearances for Fulham during the final stages of the 2020-21 campaign and even scored his first goal in the division in a 3-1 loss to Southampton before starting against Manchester United and Newcastle United in the final two gameweeks of the season.
Carvalho is one of a number of youngsters who could be walking through the Anfield doors this summer, with Celtic starlet Ben Doak joining for a £600,000 fee and already being pictured holding up the Liverpool shirt despite the lack of an official announcement.
Jurgen Klopp‘s side are also said to be confident about wrapping up a deal for Aberdeen defender Calvin Ramsay as they continue their quadruple quest with Saturday’s Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
