Liverpool signing Fabio Carvalho ticks major box in terms of important criteria for the future 

There are several elements of Liverpool's confirmation of Fabio Carvalho's impending arrival that evoke memories of Ibrahima Konate.

It was 12 months ago, shortly before the Champions League final took place, no less, that Konate was officially declared as a Reds player. It was May 28 when Liverpool confirmed the July 1 addition of Konate from RB Leipzig.

A year on, it is now Carvalho who the club have revealed will be their player on the day the transfer window officially opens. For Konate, it ensured the centre-back started the first day of pre-season with his new team-mates and that, it is understood, has been key to his quick adaptation in his maiden Merseyside campaign.

So the impending arrival of Carvalho, it is hoped, will have the same impact. Liverpool, of course, wanted the Fulham attacker in January but were thwarted in their attempts late on as transfer deadline day ticked into its final minutes.

A £5m sum was agreed earlier this year with a further £2.7m to come in potential add-ons. A 20% sell-on clause has been inserted into the deal for Fulham to benefit should the player move on further down the line.

Carvalho, despite being born in Portugal and now playing for the Seleccao's Under-21 side, qualifies as home grown and that is an important factor for Liverpool, particularly given some of their UK-born players like James Milner and Jordan Henderson are in their 30s.

With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Andy Robertson turning 29 on their next birthdays, the club are mindful about seeing a situation develop where their home-grown quotas will hurriedly need to be assessed a few years down the line. The passport of a player is never the first thought for any elite club, so the idea that the home-grown status would take on greater significance is an unwanted one.

It's why the drive to pursue the best youngsters from across the country, like Carvalho and the transfer that saw Kaide Gordon move to Merseyside from Derby County in January 2021, goes on behind the scenes. Right-back Calvin Ramsay is another target in the same mould from Aberdeen.

Liverpool were also concerned about the fact that Carvalho could have spoken to clubs outside of England about a pre-contract agreement and given his performances this season as Fulham breezed to promotion in the Championship, the player was attracting firm interest from elsewhere on the continent, with Porto and Borussia Dortmund two of several who were credited with an interest.

A key to the two clubs coming to the arrangement was the deal for Harry Wilson last summer, who finally left Liverpool after joining as a junior. The relationship between the two clubs became tetchy in the wake of the Harvey Elliott saga in 2019 when a tribunal was needed to determine a transfer fee for the midfielder.

Bridges were eventually built when Liverpool accepted a delaying of the payments until this summer, effectively seeing Wales international Wilson join on loan. Despite those terms, though, Wilson's career at Anfield is over and he is a Fulham player outright. Those negotiations were undertaken more as a help to Marco Silva's side.

Liverpool were also hugely impressed with the discretion and understanding shown by Fulham officials such CEO Alastair Mackintosh and owner Tony Khan during the negotiating process for Carvalho.

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It's a good deal: Stephen Warnock reacts to Liverpool signing Carvalho

Speaking about the transfer, former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock said:

"I think it's a good deal. Obviously for the player it's exciting, he will play in the Premier League and compete with some of the best players in world football to try and get a place in the squad as well as having a good manager, one of the best in world football to learn from and get better from.

"So being in and around that environment will be key to his development. I think the big thing for him now and for Jurgen Klopp is when he goes into the club in July they will assess where he is at, where they think his development is and what they think is the next best step for him."

Liverpool will not be looking to loan Carvalho, who scored 11 goals and eight assists across his 37 appearances for a free-scoring Cottagers side, and instead see him as someone who can immediately supplement a frontline who are losing Divock Origi this summer.