Arthur Melo’s loan move from Juventus to Liverpool has not started particularly positively and he’s building match fitness with the Reds’ Under-21 squad.
The 26-year-old Brazilian midfielder joined the Premier League side on transfer deadline day, desperate to find some consistent playing time in a bid to earn a call-up to the Brazilian national team for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. He’s only played 13 minutes of action under Jurgen Klopp so far, making a cameo appearance in their Champions League loss to Napoli.
Arthur is now taking to the pitch with the Liverpool U-21 squad, playing 90 minutes of their 1-0 win over Leicester U-21 last week and appearing for 63 minutes of their 1-0 loss to Rochdale U-21 yesterday, being replaced by Jay Spearing just after the hour mark.
The Brazilian midfielder was not brought to Juventus’ pre-season tour in the United States in the summer and trained individually, so he’s working hard to build match fitness in a bid to convince Klopp of his abilities.
Although he’s only just arrived in the North West of England, it’s hard to imagine Liverpool making his stay permanent at the end of the season.