Liverpool Sells Winger Rafael Camacho to Sporting CP

Liverpool have confirmed that 19-year-old winger Rafael Camacho has left the club to join hometown team Sporting CP on a permanent deal back in his native Portugal.

Liverpool have confirmed that 19-year-old winger Rafael Camacho has left the club to join hometown team Sporting CP on a permanent deal back in his native Portugal.

Born in Lisbon, Camacho previously spent five years in the Sporting youth setup before moving to England and joining Manchester City. He arrived at Liverpool in 2016 and eventually made his senior debut in the FA Cup third round against Wolves in January.

The youngster, who was a regular for the Reds at Under-23 level, also got on the pitch in the Premier League during a 4-3 win over Crystal Palace that same month.

Both of Camacho's senior appearances for Liverpool actually came at right back, covering for the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, and manager Klopp was full of praise at the time for a player used to attacking, especially after a crucial late challenge in the Palace game.

"I told him immediately after the game that he'd already made the most important challenge of his life. I'm not sure he really got it - he looked at me like 'What is he talking about?' - but it was really massive," Klopp said, going on to liken the starlet to Andrew Robertson.

“He's good in defensive challenges. He's an offensive player in his mindset and everything but look at our fullbacks and where are they most of the time? You need these offensive skills.

"It is the learning process Robbo went through. He was a fantastic left winger but played fullback and now he is a fullback. That’s really cool."

A club statement confirming Camacho's departure read, "Everybody at LFC wishes Rafael the best of luck at his new club."

According to journalist Melissa Reddy the fee for Camacho is £5m, rising to £7m, while Liverpool have also a buy-back option.