Liverpool scouts were captivated by the performances of Benfica winger Rafa Silva whilst monitoring Darwin Nunez.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that Reds talent-spotters were ‘impressed’ with Rafa as they gathered information on Nunez.
It’s claimed that had the 29-year-old been younger, he could potentially have been seen as a successor to Mohamed Salah.
Instead, despite their respect for his talents, Rafa will not be a target for Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp impressed by Rafa
Liverpool’s scouts weren’t the only ones impressed with Rafa. Speaking before The Reds’ first-leg against Benfica in last season’s Champions League, Jurgen Klopp praised the Portugal international.
“Rafa is, with the ball… wow! Really quick!” exclaimed the Liverpool boss during his pre-match press conference.
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Looking back, it’s easy to see the context behind those comments. Liverpool were obviously monitoring Nunez, and during that process Rafa had caught the eye, too.
As it turned out, the flying winger justified Klopp’s pre-game comments. It was he who provided the ball into the box that Darwin scored from against Liverpool in the Estadio da Luz.
In fact, he topped the assist chart in the Primeira Liga last season with 15. With Liverpool heavily focussing their recruitment efforts on Portugal, it’s obvious that these talents wouldn’t go unnoticed.
Obviously, Liverpool have a very clear direction with the kind of profile they look to bring to the club.
It’s unfortunate for Rafa that he’s the wrong side of the age-bracket The Reds tend to go for. Had Liverpool plotted a double-raid of Benfica, we could have seen his link-up with Darwin in full-flight at Anfield.
Instead, I guess we’ll just have to settle for Salah…