Liverpool are ready to battle West Ham for Fulham teenager Fabio Carvalho.
The Reds are weighing up a £5million January swoop for the 19-year-old winger amid reports that Hammers are also prepared to pounce.
The starlet has less than six months left on his current contract and would be available for a compensation fee in the summer.
Leeds and Porto are also interested in the Portugal-born England Under-18 international.
Super agent Jorge Mendes is understood to be assisting Carvalho’s brother, his official representative, as the teen prepares for the next step in his career.
But the Reds will have to tread carefully as there is still bad feeling at the London club about Harvey Elliott’s switch from Craven Cottage to Anfield in 2019.
If Fulham suspect any tapping-up or other dark arts of the transfer market in relation to Carvalho, they could make life difficult for Liverpool.
The Championship club also have to decide whether it is worth trying to cash in on Carvalho now or take their chances on being awarded a bigger fee in the summer.
Rules state that clubs that when a player aged under 24 moves on a free transfer, the former club is entitled to compensation for training and developing him.
Fulham and Liverpool were unable to reach an agreement over Elliott, 18, with the Londoners seeking up to £7m.
In February 2021 the Professional Football Compensation Committee ruled that Liverpool should pay an initial £1.5m for Elliott, and set out performance-related conditions for up to £2.8m of future payments and a 20 per cent sell-on clause.
Carvalho, who has been at Fulham since he was 12, started the Championship season on fire, with three goals in his first four league games, but his campaign has been disrupted by a toe injury and a bout of Covid.
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