Several vocal fans on Twitter were taken aback by the Liverpool recruiting team’s decision to bring Arthur Melo on loan on deadline day.
The Brazilian international arrived with an impressive resume having played the last four years for both Barcelona and Juventus, and previously earned comparisons to Blaugrana legend Xavi from former teammate Leo Messi during his time with the former.
Ultimately, of course, as the aforementioned group of supporters themselves will be quick to point out, those high expectations have hardly been reflected in performances on the pitch of late, as Massimiliano Allegri was unable to find a place for the 26-year-old. years. his starting XI.
In fact, the last time Arthur appeared in more than half of football was in a 2-1 loss to Genoa on May 6.
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However, under Jurgen Klopp, we would not be at all surprised to witness a potentially seismic reversal of fortune.
Meritocracy reigns supreme when it comes to the German tactician’s selection calls, although a lengthy time away from competitive matches and the upcoming international break could provide our No.29 with the perfect opportunity to move forward in closing the gap to the first regular team. minutes.
Reports have already noted that the former Gremio man has caught the attention of the coaching staff with his application in training, and a large chunk of the minutes in the Under-21 win at Leicester have only helped him get closer each time. more to your goals.
Thiago Alcantara, who is back in action and critical as ever, will have thrown a monkey wrench into the works (being the player he is stylistically most comparable to within the Liverpool squad), although there is a real chance he will be the one. man Klopp will turn to when wanting to rotate the Spanish international.
“He is a player who likes to be constantly in the game, touching the ball, controlling the pace of the game, who likes to be dynamic, similar to what Thiago likes to do in a certain sense,” Fabio Aurelio of the midfielder told liverpoolfc.com. .
That may not lead to a first start against Brighton & Hove Albion on October 1, but it shouldn’t absolutely rule out the possibility of our latest addition to the squad receiving the nod with more than a handful of minutes to go.
If he can then show the coach that he is capable of having a similar effect at full-back as our number 6, the security he will give us in the future will be invaluable.
More to the point, given that we are looking to revamp our midfield in the summer window (at the latest), it is a reality that it could end up saving the club tens of millions of pounds on a potential replacement for Thiago on a permanent deal. payable in two years.
It’s true that recent last-minute gambling hasn’t worked out too well for Liverpool in recent years, although there’s good reason for optimism when considering the caliber of player we know we could get our hands on if given room to flourish. really on Merseyside.
At the very least, it’s a relatively harmless and inexpensive roll of the dice.
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