Liverpool have been left in limbo over Fabio Carvalho. With almost everything sorted, including a fee with Fulham, personal terms and a medical, the move fell through at the 11th hour.
Now, the starlet returns to Craven Cottage a Fulham player. But it might not all be over.
This far down the line, it would seem almost certain that Carvalho will hook up with the Reds in the summer as planned. The terms have all been agreed and it would take a monumental effort from another club to prise the England youth star away from Anfield, now.
Carvalho himself has made it clear that he doesn't want to sign another deal with Fulham, after all. Liverpool had agreed a fee believed to be around £5m and £10m for the player – that low because he only had six months remaining on his contract – and should Liverpool sign him now for free in the summer, they may have to go to a tribunal.
This is what happened with Harvey Elliott. But really, Liverpool would probably like to avoid that. Who knows – with former Liverpool youth prospect Harry Wilson having moved to west London, maybe the Reds will waive away the remainder of the fee that Fulham still owe.
Essentially though, the fact that Liverpool and Fulham agreed a deal is the important bit: they can still agree to that money as compensation rather than face tribunal. The fact that the deal wasn't officially signed off probably won't matter, since Carvalho was set to return on loan anyway.
Fulham director of football Tony Khan has said in the past he's not "in the business of developing other clubs' players" – so maybe this way, the Carvalho situation works out best for everyone. Expect Liverpool to sign him with a little less time-sensitivity come the summer.
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