Fulham face being stung themselves as Barcelona and Real Madrid target Premier League record breaker just months after Luca Murphy controversy
Real Madrid and Barcelona are targeting a cut price deal for Premier League record breaker Harvey Elliott after the youngster rejected a new deal at Fulham.
The 16-year-old winger is the youngest player to feature in a Premier League match having made his top flight debut against Wolves at just 16 years and 30 days old.
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Hide AdAfter failing to agree a new deal with the west London outfit, Elliott is free to talk to other clubs.
A compensation fee for the teenager would likely be in the millions should another English club come in for him.
However, if the player opts to move abroad, it would cost as little as £200,000 which has sparked interest from Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The situation risks not being entirely dissimilar, albeit on a significantly larger scale, to the ordeal Pools experienced with Fulham after they controversially snapped up promising defender Luca Murphy.
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Hide AdThe 17-year-old was released by Pools in March, with Craig Hignett pointing to the young defender's lack of desire to remain, despite a professional contract offer, as the reason why.
Chief executive Mark Maguire was critical of Fulham’s conduct.
“We agreed a figure with Fulham in good faith in January and allowed Luca to travel to London to get to know the facilities with a view to signing,” he said.
“We were then given a list of reasons why the player wasn’t good enough to sign for them and they ended their interest.
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Hide Ad“Subsequently, Luca’s behaviour deteriorated to the extent that it was no longer appropriate to have him around our youth team, but when he left us both he and his agent were made aware that we reserved our right to pursue compensation.
“The behaviour of the player, his agent and Fulham FC leaves a lot to be desired, and that is an understatement.
“We have written to Fulham to explain our position and will now pursue compensation through the appropriate channels.”
Pools are yet to receive a compensation fee from Fulham for the young defender with the London club now facing a difficult situation of their own.