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Manchester United are set to battle it out with arch-rivals Liverpool for the signing of Fulham wonderkid Fabio Carvalho, as per The Daily Star. Liverpool had a deal agreed with the Championship high-flyers in the January transfer window but failed to beat the deadline.
The Reds were believed to have tabled an initial offer of around £5 million, potentially rising to £8 million, for the Portuguese-born England youth international.
It was also believed that the 19-year-old would have been immediately loaned back to the Cottagers as they continued to chase immediate promotion to the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp's side's failure to seal the deal has given other clubs hope of hijacking the wonderkid's signature, and Manchester United are believed to be stepping up their interest.
The Red Devils reportedly sent scouts to watch the promising attacking midfielder in action in Fulham’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Manchester City. While Pep Guardiola's side comfortably beat Marco Silva's side 4-1, Carvalho had an impressive outing, scoring the only goal for the Londoners.
The scouts of the 20-time Premier League champions were so impressed with the youngster that they attended two more games at Craven Cottage.
Liverpool, however, are believed to be in pole position to land the player considering they had also agreed personal terms with him in January.
Carvalho has eight goals and five assists in 23 games across all competitions this season.
Liverpool or Manchester United - Which would be the ideal destination for Carvalho?
In terms of being a footballing project, Liverpool look far from promising in comparison to Manchester United right now.
Jurgen Klopp's side have what it takes to keep challenging for both the Premier League and the Champions League in the years to come.
Carvalho will also be promised regular Champions League football if he switches to Anfield but that won't be the case at Manchester United.
The Red Devils look to be in a complete mess right now and have a lot to sort out in the summer.
They will have to choose their next manager to take over from interim boss Ralf Rangnick, who will then take up a consultancy role.
From Carvalho's point of view, a move to Anfield makes much more sense where he can play under a manager like Jurgen Klopp, who is arguably the best at molding promising young players into superstars.
