Liverpool have reportedly rejected an offer from RB Leipzig for Fabio Carvalho.
Last year, the Merseyside giants won the hotly-contested race for the youngster, who had starred during Fulham's Championship promotion campaign.
During the early months of his time at Anfield, Carvalho was provided with regular chances to make an impression at a bigger club.
The 20-year-old ended the season having made eight starts and 13 substitute outings, yet the majority of those appearances came before the turn of the year.
Carvalho has remained on the periphery of Jurgen Klopp's plans during the closing months of the campaign, a period where Liverpool improved ahead of their well-documented midfield rebuild.
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Aside from a six-minute cameo outing during the 3-0 win over Leicester City earlier this month, the Portugal Under-21 international has not featured since the March international break.
That has naturally led to speculation over the future of a player who is highly regarded by many of European football's top clubs and who will want more first-team action next season.
However, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool have recently shunned a permanent bid from Leipzig, citing that they wish to keep hold of the player.
Romano says that Liverpool are not tempted to cash in on Carvalho this summer, despite being in a position where they could make a healthy profit on someone who they signed in a deal which could reach £7.7m.
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Liverpool will allegedly only give consideration to a permanent deal if it features a buy-back clause which they deem to be in the favour.
As it stands, it is unclear whether a loan departure will become a possibility for Carvalho, although Klopp will want a deep-enough squad to cope with Europa League football.
Klopp could use that competition to rotate his starting lineup with Carvalho theoretically in line to feature heavily on the continental scene.
Carvalho, who chipped in with 12 goals and eight assists before leaving Fulham, still has four years remaining on his contract.
Darren Plant
