Arthur Melo will return to Juventus at the end of his Liverpool loan spell after a disastrous season in which the Brazilian has played only seven minutes of senior football.
The 26-year-old joined Jurgen Klopp’s side at the start of September, but constant injuries have limited him to just one cameo appearance from the Bench in the Champions League group stage against Napoli.
The Brazilian international has made three appearances for Liverpool’s U21 side this season, including two games in the league against Leicester and one against Rochdale in the EFL Trophy.
Liverpool hold the option to make Arthur’s stay permanent for €37.5 million, which after the season he has endured, seems a ludicrous suggestion.
Arthur originally arrived from Barcelona in a deal which saw Miralem Pjanic move in the other direction estimated to be worth in the region of €78 million.
As of June 30, Arthur will once again be an official Juve player and the Bianconeri will have to resume paying the full sum of his €4.5 million annual salary.
Calciomercato reports that Arthur is practically ‘unsellable’ if Juventus want to recoup any of the transfer fee they had originally spent acquiring his services.
The report states that the most realistic option is for the Brazilian to be sent out on another loan deal for next season.
However, if Arthur were to go out on loan for another year, he would still return to Juventus with a year left on his contract and decrease his market value even further and could have to pay him for another year before he leaves for free in 2025.
The only other solution, reports Calciomercato, is an outright termination of Arthur’s contract, which the player would also have to agree to.