Fabio Carvalho and James Garner have been two of the stand-out stars in the Championship this season.
Carvalho's Fulham are on the verge of clinching the second tier title, while Garner's Nottingham Forest could join them in sealing an automatic promotion spot as we head towards a scintillating finish to the season. But next term could well see the pair gracing the Premier League with different clubs. Carvalho is heading to Liverpool, albeit the Merseyside outfit have yet to publicly confirm the deal.
As for Garner, he will return to parent club Manchester United following his second loan spell in the East Midlands. Tuesday night saw the duo go head-to-head in a game of utmost importance at the top of the Championship.
Philip Zinckernagel scored the only goal of the game to seal a 1-0 win for Forest and move them to within three points of second-placed Bournemouth - who they meet in a titanic clash next Tuesday. And although Carvalho's side lost out at Craven Cottage, the Portuguese perhaps just edged out Garner in terms of personal performances on the night.
Both players completed the full 90 minutes but the stats show Carvalho put in a slightly more impressive showing. Respected industry website whoscored.com rates players' performances in games using a number of key indicators to come up with a precise rating out of 10.
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Carvalho finished the night on 6.88 whilst Garner posted 6.55. Both men fell below their average in the league this season, with Carvalho usually at 7.11, and Garner's mean score 7.05. The Fulham man registered four shots, with two on target. In comparison Garner wasn't able to get forward as much as he would have liked and failed to register an attempt. Carvalho also enjoyed more than double the amount of touches Garner had; 58 compared to 26.
Carvalho also executed two key passes compared to Garner's one, whilst surprisingly for someone at 5ft 7 the Portuguese won two aerial duels.
Whilst the individual advantage might have gone in Carvalho's favour, out of the two his task of breaking into the first team next season looks the toughest. There are a plethora of players at the top of their game at Anfield. As well as the holy trinity of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino there is Diogo Jota, Luis Diaz, Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino.
It is thought there are no plans for Liverpool to loan Carvalho back out next season meaning he may well be fighting it out among some stellar names to get into the squad.
A formal announcement is anticipated in May, perhaps once the Championship season has concluded. Whilst Carvalho's destination next season seems certain, Garner's is far from guaranteed amid reports of sides waiting to launch summer bids.
Nevertheless, prior to rejoining Forest last summer the 21-year-old penned a long-term contract extension at Old Trafford. Despite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being the manager to sanction that deal, it clearly showed United's faith in Garner's potential to one day break into the first XI.
The impending arrival of Erik ten Hag may well have muddied the waters but the Dutch coach is used to working with young players and it is reported that Garner will be given a chance to make an impact at United upon his return.
He has spoken in the past about his aims of being a midfield regular at United, saying: "I want to be a big player for this club one day - that is my ultimate aim and I’ll be working every day to make that happen."
Garner will be hoping he can help Forest seal a tremendous end to the campaign and book a long-overdue return to the Premier League. After that, the mission for both him and Carvalho will then be trying to assert themselves in new surroundings in the summer.
