Liverpool might have to shell out a record compensation fee of £9 million to Fulham for their latest signing Harvey Elliott.
According to a report from The Sun, reigning European champions Liverpool face the prospect of paying a record compensation fee of £9 million to Championship outfit Fulham for their latest acquisition, 16-year-old Harvey Elliott.
Elliott joined Liverpool last month after running down his contract at Fulham and turning down a scholarship. The 16-year-old is held in very high regard within the footballing community and had been attracting interest from someone of the biggest clubs including Barcelona and Real Madrid.
However, the teenager snubbed all those clubs in favour of a move to Liverpool and went on to feature for fifteen minutes in the friendly against Napoli. Following that, Reds’ manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that the club would be loaning out the youngster for the upcoming campaign.
Considering that Elliott is under the age of 24, Fulham are entitled to a fee for his development. And as per the report, the Cottagers, who got relegated from the Premier League last season, are set to appeal for a record compensation fee of £9 million in a case presented to the Professional Football Compensation Committee (PFCC).
Liverpool already hold the record for the highest compensation fee paid, when they shelled out £8 million for signing Danny Ings from Burnley back in 2016. They might have to break their own record if Fulham’s case stands in front of the PFCC.
Elliott, despite being only 16 years old, has been heralded as a future star. The teenage sensation became the youngest ever player to feature for Fulham when he started in a Carabao Cup fixture for them at the age of 15 years and 74 days.
In May, Elliott went on to become the Premier League’s youngest ever player, when he came on a substitute against Wolverhampton Wanderers aged 16 years and 30 days. While Klopp has claimed that Elliott will be loaned out for the upcoming campaign, the German tactician was full of praise for the youngster. He said (h/t The Sun):
“I can say many positive things about the boy because we have signed him and he decided to join us when he could have gone pretty much anywhere. He wanted to be part of Liverpool because of his talent. Now that he is here, let’s work with him. He needs game time, we have to see where he will get that. He is obviously a fine, fine footballer – that is the reason why we were really interested.”
Elliott’s immediate future is certainly away from Anfield, with the youngster likely to be loaned out to a lower division club. It remains to be seen if he goes onto become a star at Liverpool in the years to come. As far as the compensation fee is concerned, the Reds might have to pay the record amount of £9 million for the 16-year-old.
