After an unsuccessful loan spell at Brentford last season, Joao Carlos Teixeira moved down to the South Coast to spend a season with Brighton & Hove Albion, managed by – at the time – ex-Liverpool man Sami Hyypia.
Signed from Sporting Lisbon in 2012, Teixeira has only made one senior appearance for Liverpool, despite being almost 22 years of age. This came in a brief cameo away at Craven Cottage towards the back end of last season.
The Portuguese under-21 international replaced Raheem Sterling in the 82nd minute, in a game that proved pivotal in Liverpool’s title charge. In the short-lived time that he spent on the pitch, he was largely impressive. Not afraid to take his defender on, always positive and looking for a way to break down the Fulham defence.
In the dying embers of the game, Teixeira slid the ball through to Daniel Sturridge, who was brought down by Sascha Riether. Steven Gerrard stepped up to take the penalty and scored the winning goal which proved to be the second in an impressive eleven game win streak which saw the Reds go within touching distance of a memorable first Premier League trophy.
At the beginning of this season, Teixeira emerged as one of the division’s leading youngsters, bursting onto the scene with two goals in his first three games for The Seagulls.
His first goal for the club came in the 5th minute in the game between Leeds and Brighton at Elland Road. Teixeira was played through by one of his teammates and expertly finished past Marco Silvestri from an unfavourable angle. In his third appearance for the club, he scored a 64th minute goal, which proved to be the winner, in a home game against a Bolton side, which featured ex Liverpool midfielder Jay Spearing.
After an initial purple patch, though, Teixeira’s contribution in a struggling Brighton side has lessened. Whether or not Sami Hyypia’s departure has had an effect on his performances, we’ll never know. Nonetheless, he is still the club’s joint third highest goal scorer; with centre back Lewis Dunk somehow leading the way with four league goals this campaign.
In the 14 games since the Bolton match, Teixeira has failed to score but has contributed three assists and a couple of man of the match performances.
Teixeira always looked very promising in the academy, but when you compare his current ability to that of Philippe Coutinho and, to a certain extent, Luis Alberto – who are only a matter of months older – you have to wonder whether Teixeira will ever make it at Anfield.
Can Teixeira return to Liverpool? Let us know in the comments below.
