Wolverhampton Wanderers were reportedly keen to keep Rafael Camacho in the Premier League but he’s returning to Portugal with Sporting Lisbon.
The long-running Rafael Camacho saga is over.
But it has not ended with the Liverpool wonderkid posing in the golden shirt of Wolverhampton Wanderers?
According to Goal, the 18-year-old has returned to Sporting Lisbon for a bargain £5 million after refusing to extend a Liverpool contract which was due to expire in the summer of 2020.
He also rejected the chance to join the increasing Iberian influence at Molineux. Why? Well, Goal claims that he was worried about a lack of playing time at Wolves.
And you can perhaps see where he’s coming from. Nuno Espirito Santo famously loves to keep a settled team week in week out after all.
Only 10 players started more than 25 Premier League games for Wolves last season with the likes of Adama Traore, Romain Saiss, Ruben Vinagre and Helder Costa spending most of the campaign stuck on the bench.
Camacho, at 18, needs regular action to build on his undoubted potential. And while plenty of young players, from Diogo Jota to Ruben Neves, have made huge strides under Nuno, there is no clear role in Wolves’ starting XI for the former Liverpool starlet.
Would he force his way into the front three? Probably not. And with Matt Doherty locking down the right-hand flank in Nuno’s wing-back system, Wolves tend to play without natural wingers like Camacho – a tactical trend which has limited the involvement of Traore, Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro.
Maybe Sporting is the right destination after all.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
