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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Connor O'Neill

Liverpool sold player team-mates loved but could still make millions

Liverpool return to FA Cup action this weekend when they welcome Shrewsbury Town to Anfield in the third round.

Due to injuries, COVID and players away at AFCON, Jurgen Klopp is likely to field a young team against the League One outfit.

However, should the Reds indeed field a youthful looking line-up on Sunday afternoon, then it wouldn’t be the first time Klopp has opted to make changes.

Three years ago today, the Liverpool boss made nine changes from the defeat at Manchester City in his side’s previous game for the FA Cup tie against Wolves.

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Rafael Camacho and Curtis Jones were handed their full first-team debuts, while a then 16-year-old Ki-Jana Hoever made his bow after just five minutes when Dejan Lovren went off with a hamstring problem.

The Reds would eventually go on to lose the tie 2-1 with Raul Jimenez and Ruben Neves scoring in between Divock Origi’s equaliser.

The game was the start of Camacho’s Liverpool senior career, but unfortunately for him, it never really got off the ground.

His Premier League debut may have come less than two weeks later when he came on as a late substitute against Crystal Palace, but that was as good as it got for him in the top-flight.

So it came as no surprise that Liverpool sold Camacho in the July of that year to Sporting Lisbon for a fee worth around £5million.

Camacho was entering the final year of his contract at Anfield and was unwilling to sign fresh terms after viewing his first-team chances as remote.

The £5m Liverpool received from the Portuguese side could end up growing to £7m with add-ons, with the Reds also inserting a 20 per cent sell-on clause for the talented teenager.

The ECHO reported at the time that Camacho refused to sign a new contract after initially agreeing to one under the condition he would be loaned out back to his homeland.

Camacho also rejected the chance to speak to Wolves, AC Milan and Schalke, fearing his opportunities would again be limited in the first team.

A popular figure within the Liverpool dressing room, Camacho received praise from both Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker upon his departure.

"He has been in Sporting's youth set-up and probably feels like returning home. I am happy for him and I hope he is happy”, the Van Dijk said back in 2019.

"He has quality and he knows what he has to do, because we all know that there are many players who have quality, but then they lack the rest."

While Alisson also said: "He is a young man with incredible potential and personality.”

Camacho made 19 league appearances for Sporting in his debut season, before spending the second half of the 2020/21 campaign on loan at Rio Ave.

But just after his Anfield departure, Liverpool were told they had made a mistake letting Camacho leave as the youngster was likened to Joao Felix.

Joao Machado, who has followed Camacho's progress closely since the teenager played under him, claimed the midfielder could reach a similar level to Felix.

He said: "It is always difficult to make comparisons. I think he has the ability to reach the level Joao Felix currently has and in terms of characteristics they are similar players, since they move very well, occupy the spaces very well.

"Rafael can get a little more unbalanced in one-v-ones, but ends up not having the capacity to score as many goals. I believe he can get to one of the best clubs in Europe, he may become one of the best players in the world, he can do that.

"Now it is important that he is trusted, played regularly, and I think he has gone to the right club and league to stand out."

However, the 21-year-old opted to once again leave Sporting in the summer and head to Belenenses SAD on loan for the season in order to secure regular game time.

Camacho left Anfield on good terms with club officials and Klopp. However, he still has some way to go to show he could have become a Liverpool regular.

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