Making of Fabio Carvalho and inside "circus" to sign Liverpool transfer target

Greg Cruttwell still remembers being in the middle of the first tussle for Fabio Carvalho’s signature.

Carvalho’s name flashed across news bulletins across the world as Liverpool tried - and failed - to beat the transfer deadline to land the Fulham youngster.

But it was not the first time the Reds had attempted to land the Lisbon-born youngster.

They were amongst the countless clubs in the mix back in 2014 when Carvalho was just a kid attracting attention playing for the Balham Blazers.

Cruttwell, who founded the club now called Balham FC in 2011, took a leading role in handling Carvalho’s future.

Along with coach Ollie Kanner, they were entrusted by the Carvalho family, who moved from Lisbon to London in 2013.

“When it got to 14, first of all Fulham had seen him then pretty much every club came calling - Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool,” Cruttwell recalls.

“You know how it is with pro clubs -when one or two get a sniff of someone, everyone is immediately interested.

“They want to stop the other clubs getting the diamond in the rough, and Fabio is definitely that.”

The big clubs all came calling as Cruttwell and Kanner insisted they go through Balham in order to negotiate with Carvalho.

One unnamed club opted to bypass the, insisting on contacting the Carvalho family directly in a bid to sneak in through the back door.

“That really upset the parents,” he recalls. “Ultimately, that probably ruled that particular club out of the picture.”

Even with one club ruling themselves out, Carvalho had plenty of choice.

“There was a whole circus around it,” Cruttwell admits.

“His parents wanted me and Balham to handle things for them at the time as they hardly spoke any English at the time, and there was an awful lot of