Past playersJoao Carlos Teixeira

That the Portuguese midfielder never quite completed the final step to becoming an Anfield regular can perhaps be most attributed to the strength of competition he faced to win a place.

Teixeira had already scored at the Reds' home stadium before he signed for the club, having been a star performer in the prodigious Sporting CP youth side that defeated their Liverpool counterparts 3-0 at the ground in the NextGen Series in 2011.

He arrived on Merseyside permanently only a matter of months later and soon set about developing his game at the Academy, though his progress was afflicted by injury on several occasions.

Still, by the 2013-14 campaign Teixeira was training regularly with the senior squad at Melwood and showed enough in those sessions to earn a first-team debut.

Brendan Rodgers sent the attacker on as a substitute during a dramatic Premier League encounter with Fulham at Craven Cottage in February 2014 that ended with a last-minute Reds win.

He built up a wealth of further experience in the following year by joining Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on loan, making 32 appearances and scoring six times before a broken leg curtailed his season.

After Jürgen Klopp took the managerial reins early in 2015-16, the new boss quickly handed Teixeira a maiden start for the Reds - and was rewarded with an assist in a League Cup victory over AFC Bournemouth.

Six more appearances came his way in the remainder of the campaign and he also bagged a goal, hitting the back of the net in front of the Kop as Exeter City were beaten in the FA Cup at Anfield.

But in the summer of 2016, Teixeira opted for a new challenge and secured a return to his homeland by agreeing to join FC Porto upon the expiration of his Liverpool contract.