Liverpool confirm long-awaited signing of Portuguese forward Fabio Carvalho from Fulham

Liverpool have finally confirmed the signing of Fulham teenager Fabio Carvalho, with the 19-year-old set to arrive at Anfield on July 1.

The Portugal under-21 player has long been linked with a move to Merseyside, but the status of the deal was uncertain after a January deadline day attempt to secure his services fell through for Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Speaking after that opportunity bypassed him, Klopp said “it would be crazy” if they were to give up on their attempts to sign Carvalho and now he finally has his man.

Carvalho is expected to cost Liverpool £5m, with add-ons taking the total transfer towards £8m.

Arriving at Fulham – via Benfica and Balham – in 2015, Carvalho developed his game with the London club and went on to play a key role in their promotion back to the Premier League.

Carvalho scored ten times and provided eight assists as he helped Marco’s Silva win the Championship title.

Although he has little experience playing at the highest level, Carvalho did mark the first of his four appearances in the Premier League with a goal away at Southampton the last time Fulham played in the top flight.

Speaking about the forward’s impact at Craven Cottage, co-owner Tony Khan said, “I really like Fabio. He’s a player we have always rated, coming out of the academy, and we would have loved to have kept him.”

After missing out on the Premier League title by just one point to Manchester City, Liverpool are beginning to analyse the areas in which improvements can be made to get ahead of their title rivals in the next campaign.

Despite naturally taking the berth of outgoing forward Divock Origi, Carvalho arrives at Anfield knowing he will be facing stiff competition for game time for the domestic cup double winners.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have long been focal points of Jurgen Klopp’s attack, which has been bolstered in more recent times by Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz, meaning a battle to prove himself lies ahead in pre-season for Carvalho.