Southampton are frontrunners to sign Fulham attacker Fabio Carvalho, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
The 19-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and has been linked with several Premier League sides.
What's the latest news with Carvalho?
Despite only making his senior professional debut 16 months ago, Carvalho has enjoyed a rapid rise from Fulham's Under-18s side to becoming a key part of Marco Silva's first-team.
He marked his full Premier League debut with a wonderful goal against Southampton in May, but only started to draw plaudits at the beginning of this Championship season. Carvalho scored three goals and laid on one assist in his first five appearances, before missing two months through injury.
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But the teenager gave everyone a timely reminder of his quality with a fine finish against Barnsley before Christmas and an even better goal in Fulham's 6-2 victory over Bristol City last weekend.
Therefore, Carvalho, who recently turned down a contract offer from the Cottagers, is attracting attention from some of Europe's top clubs, including Real Madrid.
Southampton have also been credited with an interest in the attacking midfielder, and Jones thinks that Ralph Hasenhuttl's side are at the front of the queue for his signature.
What did Jones say about Carvalho?
He told GIVEMESPORT: "There is competition from various clubs, particularly from Southampton, who have really been leading the race to sign Fabio Carvalho."
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Who else is linked with Carvalho?
Given that Carvalho has been taking the Championship by storm this season, with five goals in just 12 league starts, it's not a great surprise that Southampton aren't the only top-flight side in the running.
According to TEAMtalk, Tottenham, West Ham and Liverpool are also keen on signing him, who could leave before the end of the January window, although he's available on a free transfer in July.
His contract situation leaves Fulham and Silva with a major conundrum. They'll obviously want to keep Carvalho until the end of the season to boost their promotion hopes but seeing someone of his ability leave for nothing next summer would also be a huge blow to the hierarchy at the club.