In desperate need of depth in midfield following an injury to Jordan Henderson, Liverpool scrambled around for a new player in the dying hours of the transfer window.
An attempt for Denis Zakaria was reported, but the Switzerland international ended up at Chelsea, leaving the Reds with the option of striking a deal with Juventus for Arthur Melo.
They took it, and, while the Brazilian has only played 13 minutes of football under Jürgen Klopp to date, the belief is he might be ready to feature a bit more after the international break.
It’s been reported that Arthur has used the time off to play catch up fitness wise to make himself fully available to Liverpool as soon as possible.
His agent, Federico Pastorello, who was key to getting the deal with the Reds so late, briefly spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport about his client’s situation at Anfield.
He said: “He arrived there on the last day of the transfer market and played little last year because of both Allegri’s choices and an injury. It’s normal for the first weeks to be used for adaptation and recovery of physical condition. Everyone is very happy with him. He gave up his holidays to stay in Liverpool to work. He’ll be at 100% soon.”
Prior to signing for Liverpool, who do have an option to make the move permanent, Arthur played for Juventus 63 times, scoring one goal and providing one assist following a stint at Barcelona, which saw him find the back of the net four times and assist six other goals in 72 appearances.
