Liverpool are hopeful of signing Fulham’s Fabio Carvalho today. That comes via The Athletic, who say The Reds are “working on a deal” to bring Carvalho to Anfield before the deadline.
The report also claims that Liverpool could loan the 19-year-old back to Fulham. He would stay at Craven Cottage for the rest of the season to help his side in their push for promotion.
It goes on to say that Fulham are “determined” not to lose Carvalho today.
His current manager, Marco Silva, has already ruled out selling the youngster this window. “It’s completely out of our plans for Fabio to leave the club in this window, completely out,” the coach said via BBC Sport on Saturday.
“The most important players we have in our squad and the others that are behind, working hard to play and waiting for their chance, they will be with us until the end of the season and Fabio is one of them,” he said.
That appeared to put a pin in any deal for Liverpool. But The Athletic report that Jurgen Klopp’s team want to “head off fierce competition” by moving for Carvalho before his contract ends this summer.
How much would he cost
No fee is explicitly mentioned in the report from The Athletic. But The Mail and The Times, amongst others, have claimed Liverpool are looking to pay around £5m for Carvalho.
This is likely to be more than any compensation fee Fulham would receive should he leave at the end of his contract.
Liverpool have previous experience with Fulham in this regard. They were ordered to pay an initial £1.2m for Harvey Elliott in 2020. That could rise to £4.3m depending on various criteria (The Guardian).
As a result of the low fee for Elliott, it would seem that a deal today, with a loan back, would suit everyone involved.
If Liverpool don’t land their man today, a summer move would seem very likely.
An exciting day could be ahead for Reds fans. After signing Luis Diaz yesterday, it has been an unexpectedly busy end to the transfer window for Liverpool.
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