There’s never a quiet transfer deadline day with Fulham is there? Yesterday seemed like it might be that rarest of ends to a window without much consequence until Liverpool’s late move for Fabio Carvalho finally materialised. It had been telegraphed, as these things are, through the press earlier in the week but the serious negotiations only occurred on the final day. Losing our most gifted youngster when the Whites are top of a competitive Championship and still chasing automatic promotion was a red line the Fulham hierarchy were clearly unwilling to cross – and it seems to have been the insistence that the teenager remained part of Marco Silva’s squad for the rest of the season that sunk the deal in the end.
In such circumstances, it is tempting to wonder whether Alistair Mackintosh, an accountant by trade, had taken a page out of Stefan Johansen’s shithousery manual. As intriguing as it might be to cast Fulham’s mild-mannered chief executive as a hatchet man, in reality the fault for failing to conclude the transfer lies solely with the Premier League giants. They had the whole of January to secure the prized talent we were led to believe was their major target and opted only to make a formal offer with time running out. We are led to believe that Liverpool will now look to secure their man in the summer, something they had previously declared themselves unwilling to consider. Should they do so, the presence of their formal offer from January will put Fulham in a strong position at a tribunal.
Carvalho, so close to a move to one of European football’s giants, might be wondering what to make of it all this morning. The wild reactions on social media make this a far greater issue than it appears. Transfers collapse all the time. Moussa Dembele’s move to Tottenham in January 2015 died a death on in the final hours of the transfer window and he went on to score crucial goals as Fulham scrambled to Championship safety. Carvalho hasn’t shown signs of his professionalism dropping as the speculation reached fever pitch – in fact his displays against Birmingham City, Bristol City and Stoke were arguably his finest in a Fulham shirt.
It is clear that Silva considers the teenager central to his plans for promotion and there can be no denying that Carvalho, with his immaculate close control, crisp passing, rapid acceleration and a ruthless eye for goal, adds another dimension to Fulham’s attack. We may only have five months of watching this prodigious talent left. All the discussion about Fulham’s handling of young talent is merited, but let’s enjoy watching Carvalho express himself in a successful Fulham side. The exuberance of youth can fade alarming quickly in football, but under Silva our peerless playmaker has a license to roam around and through opposition defences.
There’s also something to be said for Fulham’s senior officials standing their ground against the top clubs. The Whites still have ambitions to compete against the very best in English football. We know that we are always going to face a battle to hold onto our brightest talent, but it was refreshing to see Fulham stick to their negotiating position and refuse to roll over. It strengthens our hand in the push for automatic promotion and sends out a message to those who want to cherry pick our young talent. Win, win.
I’m very pleased with the way this was handled. Liverpool have only themselves to blame. They tried to get Carvalho on the cheap and expected Fulham to roll over, we didn’t.
To get them up to close to £10m is encouraging for the future.
To get Williams on loan as well is great.
Hopefully Liverpool will now realise we are not a club to be plundered of young talent.
We may not get as much money for Carvalho, but he will help automatic promotion which will allow the club to plan the return to the Premier League which play off promotion does not.
So I’m pleased we stood firm and credit to our transfer team again, after last years Toisin, Robinson, Tete steal (all for under £10m in total) they are doing well which bodes well for the future.
It wouldn’t hurt Carvalho to sign a new Fulham contract now. It sounds as though Fulham offered him a good deal, so it would help his future negotiating position to have that in his back pocket (I would imagine he is currently on a fairly junior contract).
And if it included a sensible trigger clause (£20m?), it would protect Fulham’s investment and make sure anyone bidding for him was serious and not planning on loaning him out for years to come.
Even at the end of next season he will only be 20, so he has time on his side. His career can only be enhanced by a season as a Premier League first-choice player if we go up.
I am getting fed up with Liverpool, they are treating Fulham as a nursery for young players. They think that they can wait for the most advantageous deal for Liverpool, then cherry pick our youngsters. Why don’t we just call ourselves Liverpool’s reserve side, that would suit the situation we are in.
Dare we dream that once promotion is sorted, Fabio will sign for us?
Unfortunately if he doesn’t sign the contract then he goes free in the summer. But he is more likely to sign if we get promoted so please can we go up this season
He wouldn’t be free domestically or abroad in the summer. If he stayed in England, a tribunal would set the compensation fee – likely to be far more than we got for Elliott a couple of years ago. The amount would be smaller if he went to Europe, but it wouldn’t be a free transfer by any stretch.
It just shows you that the Liverpool Academy can’t be up to match to keep coming To steal our youngsters as bad as Man City taking Patrick Roberts and where is he now
It’s good to see us stand firm on carvalho. I think he needs to look for a new agent. Someone more considered and not grabbing the first thing that comes along.
On a different note. It’s players like Denis Odoi that we should aspire to be. Professional and loyal. I hope he enjoys the rest of his career with Bruge. We’ll deserved.
I’m happy Carvalho hasn’t departed! We need to sign him up now, and please Fulham FC, if he wanted a little bit more than we’ve offered him, perhaps it was money, or contract length! ” Please Try And Think Of His Talent, And His Future Value! Perhaps In A Couple Of Years His Transfer Value Might Be £75 Million. He Could Have A Brilliant Season In The Premiership, Helping Fulham Stay Up, Hopefully Having A Prolonged Period In The Top Flight. Think Of Those Financial Rewards For Fulham FC.