When Adam Wharton moved from Blackburn Rovers to Crystal Palace in January , few people would have predicted that he would make the England squad for the summer's European Championship.
Wharton moved for an initial fee of $23m (£18m/€21m) and including add-ons, it could rise to $28m (£22m/€26m) — but that already looks like a steal. Now, Crystal Palace could demand close to $128m (£100m/€116m) for his signature with clubs including Bayern Munich and Manchester City having been linked with moves for him.
Liverpool has been linked with a move for the 21-year-old talent too, with 90Min suggesting last month that the Reds would monitor his progress. In all of this, though, there should be a hint about a different transfer deal.
READ MORE: Liverpool star set for unlikely new role after Arne Slot admission opening up transfer opportunity
READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Anthony Gordon latest, Giorgi Mamardashvili move, Julio Soler price
This week, Liverpool has knocked back a $19m (£15m/€17m) bid from Southampton for Fabio Carvalho and the ECHO has reported that it would take a "substantial" amount more than that for the Reds to accept a proposal. Supposedly, Arne Slot has been impressed with Carvalho's performances in training this pre-season and he has netted two goals in three games in friendlies.
It remains the case that getting into the Liverpool team regularly ahead of Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz will be difficult, and then Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez can play off the left-hand side as well if necessary. Anthony Gordon , in an ideal world, would be snapped up from Newcastle United too.
But if Liverpool does cash in on Carvalho, it is right to want significantly more than what has already been placed on the table. And the Wharton deal can provide something of a marker.
It is not the case that if Liverpool sells Carvalho, it will be expecting him to become a $100m-plus player six months later, of course. If that was true, selling him wouldn't even be under consideration.
However, he is more experienced than Wharton was when Crystal Palace moved for the then-Blackburn ace six months ago. If the South London side was willing to pay up to $28m for Wharton then, Carvalho should be valued at least equally.
Last year, Carvalho was an impressive performer for Hull City in the same division that Wharton came from. He has previously impressed at that level for Fulham as a teenager and has experience at the top end of both the Premier League and the Bundesliga.
Selling Carvalho should be something considered realistic this summer for Liverpool. So too, though, should getting a fee substantially bigger than what has already been tabled.
Most Popular
Comments / 0