Already in Liverpool’s focus?
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Selton Sued Sánchez Camilo, or Selton Sánchez for short, has probably had the most exciting week of his young football career: The 18-year-old playmaker made his professional debut for Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League on November 5th (0-2 in Newcastle), and was even in the starting line-up in the 1-0 win against Real Oviedo in San Mamés at the weekend. Now the Basques regularly use players from their own youth team. But Sánchez received special international attention – because of his origins. The son of a Basque father and a Brazilian mother is related to Roberto Firmino (34, Al-Sadd) and the talent seems to run in the family.
The blog “Anfield Watch” as an opportunity to attribute the Spanish U19 international’s profile to being ready for Liverpool FC, where his cousin is one of the most popular players of the past ten years. His type of player fits perfectly into the requirements profile that Reds coach Arne Slot has demonstrated in the transfer market, it says there. It is not known whether the Reds have actually already kept an eye on Sánchez – but the biggest talents in the big leagues are usually under observation at the biggest clubs anyway. That Sánchez immediately made himself into the weekend’s highlight reels on social media with a Rabona trick pass against Oviedo, but it caused the online hype to grow exponentially.
Sánchez is expected to have a great future in Bilbao, where his contract runs until 2029. He has actually been playing for cooperation club CD Basconia in the 4th Spanish league since the start of the season and is also captain of the U19 team in the UEFA Youth League. There, Borussia Dortmund had to find out the hard way what Sánchez can do: in the 4-0 win in Westphalia at the beginning of October, the cousin of the 55-time Brazilian international scored a goal and two assists. Since the beginning of the month he appears to be part of head coach Ernesto Valverde’s squad.
This is what Athletic coach Valverde says about top talent Sánchez
“Selton is a footballer of remarkable quality and self-confidence, who is not afraid of hard work and always pushes forward,” the former Barcelona coach said after Sunday’s home win, according to the newspaper.sport“The expectations for him are high. He is 18 years old and still needs to build muscle. It is an important step for him.” Sánchez himself was modest: he still has to improve a lot because he is “not yet ready” to “play the whole game”. He felt very supported by the fans in the Basque football temple: “You have to repay this affection on the pitch. I’m sure my family shed a few tears.”
“Anfield Watch” describes Sánchez as a player with technical excellence, good overview and versatility – just like his famous relative. The 18-year-old can create chances but can also put opponents under pressure. His first coach, Luis Francisco Lorenzo, told Sport: “The way he touched the ball, the way he received it, the way he moved it… You could see that he was born for it, because it’s something you have from birth. He was clearly different from the others, even though he played with boys a year older than him, and at that age it’s very noticeable. That’s why Athletic took him in. Because at that age he already had a lot of class.”
The fact that Sánchez has always been one step ahead is consistent with the fact that he made the leap from the 4th league to the first and the Champions League in such a short time. If he continues to play under Valverde in the coming weeks, the Firmino-related hype and rumors are unlikely to diminish. This is also exciting with regard to the market value updates that take place in December: LaLiga, for example, is on December 12th, the 2nd to 4th leagues on the 30th. Sánchez now has it in his own hands on which of the days he receives an updated market value.
