Real Madrid may have missed on their desired top target Kylian Mbappe – for now at least – but they are still working ever so hard under the radar to identify the future start of world football who could become the ‘next big thing’. The latest player that attracted glowing recommendations from Los Blancos scouts is Fulham’s 19-year-old dynamic midfielder Fabio Carvalho.The Portuguese-born player has started his youth career at Benfica in his Lisbon, the place of his birth, but has been in England since his family moved to London in 2013. Then only 11 years old, Fabio did well at a small local club called Balham Blazers and was quickly spotted by Fulham, who took him into their state-of-the-art football academy.So far this season, the only 18-year-olds to have scored in the Championship are Levi Colwill of Huddersfield Town and Fulham starlet Fabio Carvalho. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸! 👏#CCP | #FFC #HTAFC pic.twitter.com/O9bo9IkvzQ— The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24) September 5, 2021 Carvalho made steady progress and signed his first professional contract with Fulham in 2020, quickly becoming one of the prominent young players for the club that’s now trying to get back to the Premier League after getting relegated last term.The performances for Fulham youth sided have earned Fabio call-ups for England Under-17s and Under-18s teams. He remains eligible to be selected for Portugal’s senior team, however. There’s no doubt that he’ll be a sought-after player at both club and international level if his career continues to progress at this rate.Saturday, 17.00: (6.25) Blackpool (3.90) Fulham (1.58)The youngster has already scored three goals in five games so far this season and is viewed as a vital member of manager Marco Silva’s promotion bid. However, his performances have attracted huge attention from England and abroad leaving Fulham facing the prospect of losing the youngster.Real Madrid are keeping close tabs on Carvalho, while a number of top 10 Premier League clubs are also interested. Fulham want to tie their academy graduate down to a new long-term contract, but the growing interest in Carvalho, who was born in Portugal, has thrown a spanner in the works. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fabio Carvalho (@_fabio.10) His existing deal expires at the end of the season and it now remains to be seen whether Carvalho believes his future remains at Craven Cottage or elsewhere.
