‘He offered me a contract…’ – Liverpool youngster explains why he said no to Man United move

Cody Gakpo isn’t the only player currently on Liverpool’s books who could have easily ended up at Manchester United.

The Old Trafford side were heavily linked with the Dutchman before he finally came to Anfield midway through last season, and another Reds striker was also wanted by our main rivals in the past.

In an interview with the Liverpool Echo, Fabio Carvalho revealed that United officials had traveled to London to offer the youngster a contract, as well as training with Chelsea, but he ultimately chose to join Fulham in 2015.

The now 21-year-old explained: “United have fallen. It was around the same time I was being scouted by Fulham and just having fun playing in the Sunday League. United came and offered me a contract, but I just didn’t think it was the right thing for me, to move away from my family straight away.

“Then it came down to Chelsea and Fulham. I remember going to Chelsea and doing a few sessions with them. Michael Olise was there, Jamal Musiala was there. A few players like that were there, and I remember them being very good at the time anyway, but then Fulham came calling.

“They offered me an education that was very important to my parents, and I think that’s what kind of sealed the deal.” I was going to join the Fulham team and train more; it just made more sense. Everything happened the way it did and I’m grateful for that.

From a young age it was clear that Carvalho had a very mature head on his shoulders: how many boys in his position would have jumped at the offer of a club like United, especially when he was playing recreationally at the time of their approach?

The fact that the Manchester team called him up and he trained with Chelsea made it clear that he had a huge ceiling even as a kid, but he was still balanced enough to look at the situation in together and opt for the move. who checked the most boxes in terms of on-field training time and education.

Instead of moving to a club where the path to the first team would have been unforgiving, he stayed in London and let his talent do the work before breaking through to the senior ranks at Fulham and securing a move to Liverpool when he entered his club. adult years and accumulated some experience.

Even while postponing his potential move to Merseyside in 2022, he has shown immense loyalty to the Cottagers when many others in a similar position would not have thought twice about landing the golden ticket.

Carvalho’s career at Anfield is yet to really take off, but a rewarding loan spell at Hull has put him in a good position to make his case for the Reds in pre-season.

If this led to him becoming a Liverpool first-team star, then his childhood rejection of United would be that much sweeter!