LIVERPOOL HAVE COMPLETED their second signing of the summer after confirming the arrival of Fulham teenager Harvey Elliott.
Midfielder Elliott links up with the Merseyside outfit after a memorable campaign at Craven Cottage during which he became the Premier League’s youngest ever player.
He could make his first appearance for the Reds on Sunday after being named in their squad to face Napoli at Murrayfield.
He follows teenager Dutch defender Sepp van den Berg through the doors at Liverpool after the 17-year-old’s arrival from PEC Zwolle was confirmed in June.
The signing of 16-year-old Elliott is being seen as something of a coup at Anfield, with the Reds beating off interest from the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain to sign the forward.
But it is understood that Elliott’s support of Liverpool was enough to persuade him to swap west London for Merseyside.
“I am so happy to be able to announce that I have signed for Liverpool,” the player wrote on Instagram on Sunday morning.
“To have joined the club that I supported as a boy is a dream come true for me and all of my family and it’s an incredible feeling to now officially be able to call myself a Red.”
He added: “I can’t wait to get started and it will be a truly special feeling to pull the famous red jersey on. I’ll work as hard as I possibly can for the club and I feel Anfield is the perfect place for me to develop and progress as a player.”
Given Elliott’s age, he will not be able to sign a professional contract with the Reds until his 17th birthday in April 2020, but that would not stop Jurgen Klopp from including him in his first-team squad should he wish.
Fulham will be owed a substantial compensation fee for Elliott’s transfer having nurtured him through their academy.
Likened to Gareth Bale, Elliott made his debut for the Craven Cottage outfit as a 15-year-old in September as he came off the bench against Millwall in the Carabao Cup to become the club’s youngest ever player.
Later in the campaign he was an unused substitute in the Premier League on three occasions before stepping off the bench against Wolves in April.
At the age of 16 years and 30 days he broke the record set by former Fulham defender Matthew Briggs to become the division’s youngest ever debutant.
His final appearance for Fulham came a week later against Newcastle as Scott Parker’s side suffered relegation to the Championship.
Following Sunday’s clash with Napoli, Elliott will travel with the rest of Klopp’s squad to Evian for their final training camp of pre-season.
They will return to England towards the end of the week to prepare for Sunday’s meeting with Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium.
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