Fulham have been issued a warning regarding the future of Fabio Carvalho at Craven Cottage.

What's been said?

According to former Fulham goalkeeper Mark Crossley, Marco Silva must do all he can to keep the Cottagers at the top of the Championship table, in order to convince the 19-year-old to extend his stay at the west London side.

Indeed, it has been reported that a host of clubs, including the likes of Leeds United, Norwich City, West Ham United and Porto, are keeping tabs on the attacking midfielder, whose current deal at Craven Cottage is set to expire at the end of the season.

Speaking to This Is Futbol about the England U18 international's future, Crossley said: "I haven't seen too much of him but [from] what I have seen, Fulham have to stay at the top of the league because Premier League clubs are going to be all over him."

Unforgivable error

While it is ultimately Carvalho's choice whether or not he puts pen to paper on a new deal at Craven Cottage, Crossley is correct in his claim that staying near the top of the table, and subsequently going on to secure promotion from the Championship, will undoubtedly increase the chances of the teenager staying on at the club beyond his current contract.

However, away from the pitch, the club must also ensure that they offer the 19-year-old the best possible terms in order to entice him to sign an extension, as it is clear that Carvalho boasts the potential for it to be well worth the club offering the teenager a significant weekly wage.

Indeed, over his five Championship appearances for Silva's side so far this season, the £225k-rated man has scored three goals, registered one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.4 shots and making a remarkable 2.2 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the player the Fulham manager himself dubbed a "fantastic" talent average an astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.30, ranking him not only as the Cottagers' fifth-best performer in the league but also as the joint 22nd-best player in the entirety of the division.

As such, letting the £650-per-week attacking midfielder leave the club next summer, especially on a free transfer, would most certainly be an unforgivable error on the part of Silva, who must simply pull out all the stops to convince the 19-year-old to remain in west London.

In other news: Forget Wilson: Silva's "fantastic" £3.6m-rated ace stole the show for Fulham in August