Liverpool Look Took Juventus Man to Solve Midfielder Issues

It came as a bit of a surprise but it appears Liverpool will acquire the services of Juventus’ Arthur Melo on a season-long loan with no option to buy after the contract concludes, according to reports.

Back-to-back celebrations for Reds around the world as the hunt for a new midfielder ends on deadline day and before the madness of price hikes and other silly clauses are inserted into deals made on the final hour.

The Reds come off the back of a dramatic Anfield victory against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle and during the tight affair, lost yet another midfielder to injury; add club captain Jordan Henderson to that long list with the club awaiting the results of a scan to understand the severity of his hamstring issue.

Before the Premier League campaign kicked off, Jurgen Klopp had more than a handful of first-team delegates missing from selection, with the midfield mostly impacted. After the first game, the manager lost the Spanish maestro, Thiago Alcântara.

Added to this, Liverpool was already without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones. Now Henderson will spend some time on the sideline and the Champions League hasn’t even commenced. Let us not forget the forgotten Naby Keita, who is yet to make an appearance this season due to injury and illness.

All the weight would have weighed heavy on youngsters Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho. Not what a club fighting on all fronts can rely on at the moment. A transfer needed to be made and now a medical is in the process of being completed and the Reds will be a new central player heavier.

Why has Liverpool gone in for Arthur Melo?

For their style of play, Melo ticks all the right boxes. Before plying his trade in Italy for the Old Lady, he spent two years at Barcelona playing alongside Messi and co. Melo was one who fell victim to the Champions League “corner taken quickly” night at Anfield.

Coming from Camp Nou, the possession-type play is already in his DNA. He does the passing sideways business to the T, has almost mastered ball retention, runs up and down the pitch tirelessly, and can play a good through ball, qualities Klopp is apparently looking for in his players, especially in the middle of the park.

As stated by Guillem Balague; it didn’t take a lot to convince him Massimiliano Allegri wasn’t right for him at Juventus and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool was a perfect fit. His passing accuracy is up there with some of the best.

In his four years in Europe, while playing for Barca and Juve, he has managed a 94% passing accuracy, completing 2120 passes out of 2243 attempts. He also averages 1.77 shot-creation actions per 90.

On the defensive side, he presses well and puts in a decent challenge. He has won 108 tackles of the 160 made. Sounds like a good fit for a loan option and he will certainly put pressure on those underperforming in the same positions.

Another added bonus, he is a familiar amongst the Brazilian boys: Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino, and Fabinho, who have all played with him at international level.

Could he make the weekend’s Merseyside Derby?

Pending his medical and the signing of paperwork, it is said the soon-to-be Red is fit and happy to get going immediately. It is quite possible he’ll make the matchday squad to play Everton on early Saturday kickoff, the opener of Matchday 6, especially with Henderson being out injured.

The Reds completed back-to-back victories for the first time this season when they beat Newcastle 2-1 and would like to keep the momentum going when they face their city rivals. Prior to the Melo transfer, the Reds submitted a £20m bid for Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz.

Villa states he is not for sale, while Arsenal are said to be leading the race for the midfielder and are rumoured to have made a £25m bid for him. It has not been reported that Liverpool have pulled out of a potential Luiz deal.