It would have been easy for Fabio Carvalho to have let the cat out the bag on Monday night.
Basking in the glow of promotion, confirmed as a Championship winner with Fulham and having just signed off on a 7-0 hammering of Luton with a goal himself, it seemed as good a chance as any for an opportunistic reporter to get some official confirmation on his next move.
The coy response hinted at a maturity that is beyond his 19 years. A laugh, a wide grin and a simple reply of "we'll see what happens" was sensible and measured, even if it left Liverpool fans none the wiser.
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Fulham's owner, Tony Khan, was more forthcoming, telling The Athletic : “He’s a player we have always rated, coming out of the academy and we would have loved to have kept him. But we have made a deal that is best for the club and since that agreement, it’s worked out wonderfully because he has been such a valuable part of promotion."
Carvalho will formally become a Liverpool player on July 1 when he joins on a five-year contract, although the Reds have chosen to be respectful of the Cottagers' situation and wait until the end of their season before he is officially revealed at Anfield.
After a medical was undertaken in London on transfer deadline day back in January, the Reds ran out of time to conclude a deal but were always confident that Carvalho would, eventually, be their player.
So much so, in fact, that Klopp took the unusual decision to speak about Carvalho when asked in his first post-deadline day press conference in February.
"We are still interested - it would be crazy if we were not," said Klopp. "It was late, the window closed, it did not work out. We'll see what happens."
Fulham were adamant that whatever happened with Carvalho's future, he would remain their player for the remainder of the campaign having become an important part of a free-scoring attacking outfit at the top of the second division.
Eleven goals and eight assists across his 37 appearances so far suggest this is a player who is ready for the bigger stage and while Fulham are understandably disappointed it won't be with them, there is a respectful agreement between the two clubs over a player Liverpool view as one of the best teenagers in England.
With the Portugal Under-21 international into the final six months of his deal at the turn of the year, Anfield officials were desperate to avoid a tribunal with Fulham, having seen relations between the two clubs sour as a result of the Harvey Elliott pursuit in 2019.
Instead, a £5m sum was agreed with a further £2.7m in add-ons and a 20% sell-on clause has been inserted into the deal. Carvalho, despite being born in Portugal, qualifies as home grown and that, it is understood, is an important factor for Liverpool given some of their UK-born players like James Milner and Jordan Henderson are in their 30s.
With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andy Robertson turning 29 on their next birthdays, the club are concerned about seeing a situation where their home-grown quotas will hurriedly need to be assessed a few years down the line.
It's why the drive to pursue the best youngsters from across the country, like Carvalho and the deal that saw Kaide Gordon join from Derby County in January 2021, goes on behind the scenes.
Liverpool were also mindful of the fact that Carvalho could have spoken to clubs outside of England about a pre-contract agreement and given his performances this season, the player was attracting firm interest from elsewhere on the continent with Champions League opponents Porto one of several credited with an interest.
A key to the two clubs coming to the arrangement was the deal for Harry Wilson last summer. After relations became frosty in the wake of the Elliott saga, bridges were built when Liverpool accepted a delaying of the payments until this summer, effectively seeing the Wales international join on loan.
Despite the nature of those terms, Wilson is officially a Fulham player and he has been another important part in a team who have plundered 106 goals in the Championship. That helped smooth things over following the Elliott pursuit.
With Fulham's permission, Carvalho has already been given a tour of his new workplace, having visited the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby. It was here where personal terms were agreed and a second medical were completed as the attacking midfielder met his new manager for the first time. The ECHO understands Liverpool were hugely impressed with how the Championship table-toppers dealt with the negotiations during this period.
FSG president Mike Gordon was part of the team that handled the talks alongside current sporting director Michael Edwards and his successor Julian Ward and their conversations with Fulham CEO Alastair Mackintosh as well as owner Tony Khan have put Liverpool on the cusp of a Carvalho announcement.
Klopp is delighted with the capture and views his versatility and ability in possession as traits that can be shaped in the coming years, while the youngster's character is seen as an ideal fit for the make-up of the current squad.
It reaffirms Liverpool's commitment to sourcing the finest youngsters in the country and ensuring their best years are at Anfield.
