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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Paul Gorst

Liverpool close in on Fabio Carvalho transfer from Fulham

Liverpool are close to completing the signing of Fabio Carvalho from Fulham for an initial fee of £5m.

The 19-year-old emerged as a late target at the end of the January transfer window but the deal fell through after the 11pm deadline passed at the end of the month.

Liverpool have continued to negotiate behind the scenes and are on the brink of concluding a deal for the England Under-20 international.

The Reds had been concerned about losing out to a European giant given Carvalho was able to speak to clubs outside of England in January.

They were also wary of the potential for a tribunal hearing with Carvalho into the final six months of his contract when they made contact with Fulham in January.

However, the ECHO understands that a deal is now close to seeing the teenager join at the end of the campaign with the Championship club due a fee for developing him since he joined the junior ranks in 2015.

Club sources have remained tight-lipped over the specifics of the deal but it has been reported that Liverpool could eventually pay over £7.5m for Carvalho, despite the dwindling days on his deal in west London.

Liverpool have agreed a 20% sell-on clause for Carvalho too and personal terms have been agreed.

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It will mark another exciting young arrival at Liverpool as they continue to scour the country for the brightest talents around. The Reds have been monitoring the Lisbon-born starlet's situation for some time and believe they can eventually offer him a clear pathway to the first team at Anfield.

The club's recruitment team are able to point to the development of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones and more recently Harvey Elliott and Kaide Gordon as examples of young players who have made themselves first-team members under Jurgen Klopp in recent years.

Liverpool believe his level of senior experience at 19 and the ability to play in a number of attacking roles make him an interesting prospect as they continue their policy of luring the finest youngsters in England to the club.

Carvalho has made 31 appearances this season under Marco Silva and has contributed eight goals and seven assists for a side who are currently 11 points clear at the top of the Championship.

The teenager is likely to link up with Klopp's senior side when he is confirmed as a Liverpool player rather than joining the Under-23 ranks at the Kirkby Academy.

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Klopp took the unusual step of confirming interest in the creative midfielder after the transfer deadline had passed in a pre-match press conference in February.

"We are still interested - it would be crazy if we were not," said Klopp at the time. "It was late, the window closed, it did not work out. We'll see what happens."

Such was Liverpool's determination to sign Carvalho back in January that they were happy to loan him back to Fulham for the remainder of the season as their attempts to return to the Premier League went on under Silva.

However, the deal eventually collapsed after the Reds were unable to complete the paperwork in time, despite Carvalho having undergone a medical in the capital on January 31.

The deal sheets that allow Premier League clubs more time to secure transfers on deadline day are not applicable for the Championship and with the loan back to Fulham being seen as a non-negotiable for the Cottagers at the time, Liverpool were forced to admit defeat.

Anfield officials were relaxed at the time, however, and always planned to take their time to ensure they were able to thrash out an agreeable deal for all parties ahead of Carvalho's dream move to Anfield.

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