Arthur Melo is virtually certain to leave Liverpool when his loan contract expires in the summer.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that it’s ‘highly unlikely’ that the Brazilian will remain at Anfield for 2023/24.
Arthur has played just 13 minutes of football this season. The 26-year-old had been working hard to get fit, before he picked up a serious quad injury.
It’s expected that Arthur will be out until well into the new year. As a result, he perhaps won’t be given too many chances to build on his single Liverpool appearance so far.
No surprises here, but a big shame, nonetheless.
Arthur Liverpool dream turning to a nightmare
Liverpool got a rare glimpse of Arthur yesterday. The midfielder featured in a video for Reds sponsors AXA on the club’s YouTube channel.
Given that the video featured the on-loan Juventus man kicking a ball with power, it’s likely that it was filmed prior to his injury.
Either way, it was nice to see him interacting with Liverpool teammates Nat Phillips and Joe Gomez. At the time, Arthur was perhaps still hoping to make his mark at Anfield.
Looking at the video now though, it’s easy to feel sorry for the Brazil international. He had appeared desperate to prove his worth and earn the unlikely chance of a prolonged Liverpool career. His work with the U21s had led to coach Barry Lewtas calling him ‘first-class’ via Liverpool Echo.
Now, that looks like nothing more than a pipe dream. By the time Arthur’s fit and up to some kind of speed, Liverpool may even have a new midfielder installed.
That will push the former Barcelona man further down the pecking order. It would be nice to see a major turnaround from here, but Arthur may even be better looking for another move in the winter window.
Whether he does or not in January, it seems pretty nailed on that, sooner or later, he’s going to have to.
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