Liverpool have confirmed the worst kept secret in football…that Fabio Carvalho will join the club on July 1.
The Reds have agreed a compensation package for the brilliant young Fulham forward, who has scored 11 goals this season in his London club’s Championship winning campaign.
Carvalho, 19, almost joined the Reds in the January transfer window, but after a deal was agreed at the 11th hour, the Anfield club failed to complete the necessary paperwork before the midnight deadline.
Instead, they maintained a close relationship with Fulham, and agreed to match the deal that was struck as a compensation package that could rise to above £7m with appearances.
Carvalho is an England U18 international but was born in Portugal before moving to London with his family in 2013, and now represents the country of his birth at U21 level.
He has produced eight assists this season, and will become a Liverpool player when his contract with Fulham expires at the end of June.
His current boss Marco Silva admitted he would be sad to see the exciting young star go, and said recently: “Look, 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.
“You ask me if I would like to keep him here, I’m 100 percent sure. But we will see if it would not be possible.
“About next season, he will not be our football player. It’s difficult for me, I can’t speak about the situation.”
And Silva believes Liverpool will be getting a future star. “I think he has a brilliant career in front of him. He is a top top talent in my opinion.
“There were many clubs around him, a lot of rumours around him, and it was really tough for us to renew his contract. It is not normal for a boy of 19 years old, from the first two months of the season, to have a lot of rumours around him from clubs around Europe.
“He never lost the focus, he let other people take care of it, and he really helped our football club to get promotion, to be champions.
“For a boy of 19 it is a fantastic sign and I believe that he has all the qualities to perform at a high level and to keep improving.”
Klopp has always admired the Portuguese youngster, and when the deal wasn’t completed in January he said then: “We are still interested – it would be crazy if we were not.”
