Liverpool were very close to signing Fabio Carvalho on the winter window deadline, but they were unable to complete the transfer. Their plan is to sign the talented 19-year-old for a small fee and loan him back to Fulham for the rest of the season, but now the Reds have left the rising star within reach of other clubs. Carvalho's contract with Fulham expires in the summer, so he will soon be a free agent. While Liverpool remain confident they can persuade the teenager to join them again, their deal with Fulham is now meaningless as the Championship side will no longer own the player when the next transfer window opens. There are several clubs across Europe looking to sign Carvalho in the summer. Let's take a look at the five most likely candidates to challenge Liverpool.
Southampton
Liverpool's interest in Carvalho was unexpected, as southampton had been the top team most closely associated with the young talent before that. Their interest is still there, although the Saints are now struggling to persuade the England youth international to join them as other bigger clubs are now in the competition and they can no longer offer an early entry into the Premier League. But playing time at St. Mary's Stadium can be a potentially tempting condition.
Ac milan
One reason Liverpool failed to complete The Carvalho deal is that clubs from outside England can already negotiate a pre-contract deal with the upcoming free agent, which England teams are not currently allowed to do. Non-British teams can also avoid situations where transfer fees are set by the courts. That's an advantage for suitors in other European leagues like AC Milan. Italy reported that AC Milan's directors had contacted Carvalho's representatives about a possible transfer. Considering that Casey is likely to leave the team in the summer window, San Siro also has a spare position to choose from.
Dortmund
Dortmund has a connection with every young genius, and so does Carvalho. If he's going to turn down Liverpool's summer offer and sign up elsewhere, then he has to have an attractive project and bundesliga teams can offer that. They can point out that they have become a springboard for people like Sancho, Pulisic and Haaland, which may appeal to Carvalho.
Barcelona
Barcelona's current transfer policy is to try to sign every offensive talent who can be freely available and can afford a salary, so Carvalho is suitable here. While Barca certainly aren't favourites with the youngster, they can't be ruled out as the 19-year-old could have the chance to step straight from Craven Farm to Camp Nou.
Real madrid
If Barcelona is also involved, then you can bet that Real Madrid will also be engrossed. When Carvalho and Fulham's deal with Liverpool proved to be a failure, Real Madrid – a club that always suffered misfortune on deadline days – were linked to the attacking midfielder in the Spanish media. The Galaxy's current transfer policy is to sign the best young players, and Carvalho will certainly meet that condition.