Liverpool’s late push to sign Fabio Carvalho from Fulham ends in failure

Liverpool were frustrated in their attempt to sign Fabio Carvalho from Fulham on deadline day despite being willing to pay up to £8.4m for the highly rated teenager.

A day of complex negotiations between the clubs saw Fulham reject Liverpool’s opening offer of £5m for a player out of contract this summer. An agreement was eventually reached for the improved fee only for Liverpool to run out of time to conclude personal terms and conduct a medical with the 19-year-old. A proposal for Fulham to keep the player on loan for the rest of the season also brought complications.

Jürgen Klopp had brought forward interest in the Portugal-born winger, who can also operate as an attacking midfielder, given the fierce competition that is expected for his signature at the end of the season.

Liverpool were prepared to hand a five-year contract to the England under-18 international, who has scored seven goals in 19 appearances for Marco Silva’s Championship leaders this season, but ultimately missed out on a second signing of the window after the arrival of Luis Díaz from Porto.

A deal to bring Carvalho to Anfield could be revisited, however, with a pre-contract agreement possible that would allow the player to join once his Fulham contract expires.

In other business with a promotion-chasing club, Liverpool allowed the central defender Nat Phillips to join Bournemouth on loan until the end of the season.

The 24-year-old has been the subject of widespread interest this month, with Liverpool receiving two bids of £7m plus inquiries from Newcastle and Leicester, but the prospect of more regular first-team football with Scott Parker’s side proved more attractive to Phillips and the club.

Newcastle’s offer was a loan with a commitment to buy