The rise of humble ‘no bull***’ Fulham star Fabio Carvalho, from Benfica to Balham and nearly signing for Liverpool
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 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.
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."