Chelsea are the latest club to reportedly register an interest in 18-year-old Fulham wonderkid Fabio Carvalho, who is in the final year of his contract.
According to a report from Football League World, reigning European champions Chelsea have set their sights on London rivals Fulham as they monitor the contract situation of teenage prodigy Fabio Carvalho.
Born in Portugal, the 18-year-old attacking midfielder spent some time at the academy of Benfica before switching to England at a very young age. He has been part of the Fulham youth setup since 2014 and has made rapid strides through the ranks in recent years.
Carvalho scored 17 goals and set up 13 more in 46 games for the Cottagers’ Under-18 side and continued to impress with the reserve team as well, bagging 16 goals and 6 assists in 39 matches, forcing his way into the first-team as a result. He made his senior bow in September last year under then-manager Scott Parker and has made nine appearances so far.
Carvalho looks set for a more prominent involvement in the first-team this season, having started each of Fulham’s three Championship matches, contributing with a couple of goals and an assist. His rapid progress at just 18 has put several clubs in England on high alert, with West Ham and Leeds United tracking him, only to be joined by Chelsea now.
The Blues are renowned for plucking top young talent from across the globe, and while in the past they would farm them out on loan endlessly before eventually selling them, things have changed at Stamford Bridge of late.
The likes of Mason Mount, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, who recently left the club for AS Roma, and Trevoh Chalobah have shown that there is a pathway from the youth ranks to the first-team at Chelsea. And considering how well Carvalho has been doing with Fulham, there could be a chance that he too breaks his way into Thomas Tuchel’s setup should he decide to switch clubs.
As things stand, though, the Cottagers are hoping to convince the 18-year-old to stay put and sign a new contract, believing that regular first-team football in a potentially promotion-winning campaign could do the trick. Nonetheless, with the interest mounting in the teenage prodigy, things could escalate between now and the transfer deadline day less than two weeks away.
What now remains to be seen if Chelsea decide to act on their reported interest in the young Carvalho or whether any other club swoops him away from Fulham.
