The rise of humble ‘no bull***’ Fulham star Fabio Carvalho, from Benfica to Balham and nearly signing for Liverpool
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GREG CRUTTWELL says there is “absolutely no bull****” when it comes to humble Fulham star Fabio Carvalho.
Some fans have accused the Portuguese whizkid of being too big for his boots when he rejected a contract extension with the club in November.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth for the 19-year-old.
His move became one of the most talked about transfers of the season.
But he came off social media during that time so he could "block out the noise" and focus on helping Fulham.
His refusal to sign a new deal with the Whites is still met with the odd spatter of boos and chants of "sign the contract".
But as the spotlight continues to blare down on Carvalho, he is still the same boy who Balham chairman Cruttwell met on Clapham Common ten-years ago.
He was only eleven-years-old, barely spoke a word of English but let his feet do the talking when he joined Balham's youth set up.
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Cruttwell told SunSport: “He will have handled the pressure of Deadline Day very well.
“I saw him two weeks ago, he was at Motspur Park watching some of his mates play in the under 23s.
“I had a chat with him and just said ‘how are you finding it with all the noise that surrounds you?’
“Obviously that noise increased with Deadling Day and he just said ‘I'm not looking at social media.’
“He said ‘I'm just blocking everything out, all I'm concentrating on is playing the next game.'
“I believe him because there's absolutely no bull**** with him.
“He's like the Seven Up kid. Whatever happens to him, if he ends up at Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, he will always be the same kid because he hasn’t got a big headed bone in his body.”
ARRIVAL IN LONDON
Carvalho moved to Elephant and Castle with his family when he first arrived in the UK from Portugal, having risen through the Benfica youth ranks.
Training with Balham on Clapham Common was a stark contrast to the breezy sea views, glossy tiled facades and red roofs of Lisbon.
But it proved the perfect fit for the dynamic playmaker who stayed there for three-years.
Cruttwell added: “With all that happened on transfer day, it looked like he was going to go. Was he, wasn't he and then it didn’t happen.
“I know that he’ll be absolutely fine getting back into training hard. He’s very centred as a person.
“He’s still the same when he plays for Fulham now as he was a kid, he just wants to play football.
"He is able to block all the noise out and just play. All he wants is a kick about in the park."
PAPERWORK PROBLEM
Liverpool were hashing out talks with Fulham over a move for Carvalho throughout Deadline Day.
After agreeing to their demands for the fee, a sell-on clause and loaning him back for the rest of this season, they failed to get the paperwork in before the 11pm cut off.
That wasn’t the first-time Carvalho, who has hit eight goals and four assists this term, was in the middle of a transfer tussle.
Fulham were the first club to notice him but the big clubs came calling after he lit up a youth tournament in Guilford.
Cruttwell added: “Scouts from Chelsea were there because they got wind that Fulham were interested.
“They came in, then Arsenal and Manchester United flew from Carrington to meet me at a secondary school in Balham which was pretty surreal.
“Liverpool asked him to visit. It was a circus but from the outset he liked Fulham the best.
“Fabio and his parents weren’t dazzled by the Disneyland spectacle of Cobham and at Carrington. They saw the bigger picture.”
The youngster once again turned heads on Saturday by grabbing an early goal in the 4-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.
AC Milan are now keen to hijack Liverpool’s summer transfer plans when he becomes a free agent at the end of this campaign.
But Carvalho’s family have never pushed the starlet into moving to a megabucks club too early in his career.
Cruttwell said: “We handled the situation with Fulham for Fabio's family because their English was pretty poor and they felt under a great deal of pressure.
“They were loyal, wonderful people. We insisted Balham was part of any deal done with Fabio. We got a deal that I think no grassroots club has got before.
“Fabio’s parents played a huge part in that. They didn’t want to jump ship immediately, they wanted Fabio to see out the season with us.”
Carvalho was left frustrated with limited game time under former Whites boss Scott Parker last term.
He instantly proved his worth by cracking in a goal on only his second Premier League appearance against Southampton in May last year.
'THE HUMBLEST KID'
Despite him blossoming into one of the world's hottest young prospects - he hasn’t forgotten his roots.
He still watches Balham games at the Mayfield Stadium and catches up with pals who play at the club.
Cruttwell continued: “He's the humblest kid. He's just a special person who lights up the room.
“When he slaps your hand when he arrives anywhere, he is just amazing. And I could tell there was something magical about him immediately.
“With a kid like him he doesn't forget where he's come from.
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“He comes back to Balham games whenever he can and he knows some of the boys who progressed into the first-team.
“He had a cousin who was recently over here on trial with us so he's still very connected to us."