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Photo by Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
The former Barcelona midfielder was seventh-choice at Juventus, and this move will help him stay in contention for a call-up to Brazil for the World Cup.
Per multiple reports, Liverpool FC is closing in on a loan deal for Juventus’ Arthur Melo. The midfielder is on his way to Liverpool for a medical, which will help facilitate the deal before the transfer deadline tonight.
The 26-year-old Brazilian international has seemed surplus to requirements under Massimiliano Allegri, and this arrangement will suit both clubs just fine.
Medical scheduled in the afternoon for Arthur Melo as Liverpool and Juventus are closing on final details of loan deal for Brazilian midfielder. NO buy option as things stand #LFC
Arthur has accepted right after the first call received by LFC yesterday night. #DeadlineDay pic.twitter.com/ZfyzCL7Chj
So far, Fabrizio Romano has been the only reporter talking about the lack of a buy option in the deal, so we’ll see when the details are finalised.
My initial thoughts on the deal - This is going to be quite underwhelming for many Reds fans, but it was pretty clear that the club wasn’t going to be lining up a blockbuster deal. Arthur himself is sort of an interesting reclamation project.
ARTHUR AT JUVENTUS
Well remember those statistics about Arthur's difference in 19/20? This really is going to hammer home the damning misuse of Arthur Melo.
Take a look at his output p90 across all seasons in Europe. Notice anything? That attacking output has dwindled pic.twitter.com/Tbpj5hsZfg
(H/T to Twitter user @EuroExpert_, whose thread on Arthur is making the rounds in the wake of this news)
He’s a press-resistant player with great vision, a good presser, and semi-decent athleticism at the position. His best years were at Barcelona, especially the 19/20 season, where he was allowed to both progressively carry and pass the ball. Unfortunately as @EuroExpert_ points out, he got replaced by Frenkie de Jong, who just happens to be better at those things, and has been moved around a lot position-wise. As a result, his attacking numbers have fallen off quite a bit.
What he clearly won’t be is a defensively-minded midfielder who plays deep, which seems to be what Pirlo and Allegri have done with him before quickly giving up on. Liverpool should look to keep him in the middle of the park to the final third, where his ball retention and creativity can be utilised. I could see him being utilised like a mesh between a diet version of Thiago with some Gini Wijnaldum, with his primary role being to help the team keep and control the ball better in the attacking phase of the game.
