Before joining Liverpool in the summer of 2022, Fabio Carvalho was on the cusp of signing in the winter window, and he has now explained why that fell through at the last minute.
On deadline day of the winter window in 2022, the deal between the Reds and Fulham was reported to have collapsed after deal sheets failed to be submitted on time.
The deal would have seen Liverpool sign Carvalho and send him straight back on loan for the remainder of Fulham‘s Championship season, seen as a win-win situation.
An agreement was made and the medical had taken place, but Carvalho has now explained he was a key reason why the transfer was pushed to the summer in an interview with the Echo.
The attacking midfielder explains that he knew of Liverpool’s interest more than a month before the January window, “but it wasn’t until the last week of the window where things started to get serious.
“It was literally only on deadline day when I went to do the medical.”
However, the now 21-year-old says the move didn’t happen for a different reason, saying: “At the time, it just didn’t feel right. It felt a bit rushed, so I said I don’t want to do it because it didn’t feel right.
“We’ll continue talking, we’ll continue having conversations, because obviously, I did want to join Liverpool. They are one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“But at the time it just didn’t feel right doing it there and then.
“Credit to Liverpool, they understood where I was coming from and were so good with managing it. We just kept in contact and made it happen in the summer.
“There was no point rushing it if I’m still going to be at Fulham. I just wanted to make sure I ended the season strongly and on a high, which I did. Things turned out how they turned out.”
In the end, Carvalho signed in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth up to £7.7 million and has since featured just 21 times under Jurgen Klopp.
But with Arne Slot set to arrive in the summer, the Portuguese is ready for a fresh start, saying: “It’ll be a fresh start for me, and for the likes of Tyler [Morton] as well.
“We’ve just got to take the chances that come. Really grasp it and take it with both hands.”
The 21-year-old’s season has come to a close after Hull failed to make the Championship play-offs, meaning he will return to the club at the start of pre-season.
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