Liverpool are reportedly keeping a close eye on Fulham playmaker Fabio Carvalho amid the teenager's rapid rise in a Fulham shirt.
The Portuguese-born attacker has established himself as a key member of the Cottagers' setup at 19 years of age since rising through the youth ranks, bagging eight goals and setting up two more in 17 Championship appearances this season.
Carvalho only has six months left to run on his deal with the Championship leaders, and whatever happens with his contract situation at Craven Cottage, he is seemingly destined for Premier League football in the 2022-23 season.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at Carvalho and what Liverpool fans could expect from the youngster should he make the move to Anfield.
EARLY BEGINNINGS
© Reuters
Born in the Lisbon district of Torres Vedras in 2002, Carvalho began his footballing journey in the youth setup at Benfica before moving to England, where he spent three years at Balham FC ahead of his move to Fulham's youth academy in the winter of 2014.
The playmaker would enjoy a rapid rise through the youth ranks at Craven Cottage, with a particularly eye-catching 2018-19 Under-18 Premier League campaign seeing him score eight goals and set up eight more in 19 appearances, and he soon began to make his mark at Under-23 level.
Alongside another productive campaign in the U18 Premier League, Carvalho became a regular for the Under-23s just after his 17th birthday and ended the 2019-20 season with five goals in 10 Premier League 2 appearances.
The 2020-21 season saw Carvalho have a direct hand in 19 goals across 13 Premier League 2 appearances amid his breakthrough into the Fulham first team, featuring four times in the Premier League and scoring once in a 3-1 defeat to Southampton before the Cottagers' demotion to the second tier.
The teenager started Fulham's final three Premier League games of the 2020-21 season as well as making his EFL Cup and FA Cup debuts that same year, with the London club fully aware that a true gem was on their hands at this point.
RECENT FORM
© Reuters
A competent dribbler with a keen eye for a pass, a strong first touch, a willingness to get stuck in to the tackle and a penchant for goals - earning comparisons to a young Philippe Coutinho - Carvalho immediately established himself as an integral member of Fulham's setup in the summer months.
By gameweek four of the 2021-22 Championship season, Carvalho had three goals and an assist to his name - netting in successive games against Huddersfield Town, Millwall and Hull City - but a serious toe injury derailed his progress for several weeks.
The teenager then contracted COVID-19 during the latter stages of his recovery and missed a total of nine second-tier games for Fulham in that period, while he recorded just one goal in his subsequent nine matches following his return to action.
However, Carvalho has since rediscovered his golden touch with four goals in three games against Bristol City, Birmingham City and Stoke City since January 15, as free-scoring Fulham steer well clear of the rest of the promotion-chasing pack.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Carvalho is eligible to represent Timor-Leste as well as Portugal and England, but he has already progressed through the levels for the Three Lions since initially pulling on the jersey at Under-15 level back in 2016.
A spate of international friendlies at Under-17 level would soon follow for Carvalho, whose two goals in that age group both came against Brazil's Under-16s, while he also assisted a Joe Gelhardt strike in a 2-0 win over Cameroon.
Carvalho has since featured on eight occasions for the Under-17s - even captaining the side in a couple of games - before making the step-up to Under-18 level, taking part in six friendlies and ending up on the winning side during five of them.
The Fulham starlet is yet to earn his first call-up to England's Under-21 squad, but it is surely only a matter of time before Lee Carsley considers him for a place, even if he does end up making the move to the former Everton man's most bitter rivals.
