Report: Liverpool signed ‘first-class’ player as part of their plan to get Jude Bellingham

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Liverpool signed Arthur Melo with Jude Bellingham in mind, according to reports. The Reds have a plan to sign the player.

This comes from the Daily Mail. They claim that Liverpool signed Arthur Melo in the summer because of their plan to get Jude Bellingham.

Bellingham, after all, is their no.1 target. The Reds are desperate to bring him in from Borussia Dortmund and 2023 is their opportunity – likely the only one they’ll get.

And that means Liverpool have been preparing for it. The Mail talk about their recent recruitment being about creating space for Bellingham. Arthur coming in on loan was a part of that – a player they didn’t commit to beyond this season.

The Brazilian, who was labelled ‘first-class’ for his efforts in training this season, does have an option to buy in his contract. It’s doubtful Liverpool trigger it, however, and Arthur will almost certainly return to Juventus in June.

In doing so, Liverpool get more space in their squad to sign Bellingham.

Liverpool signed Arthur because of Jude Bellingham

It makes sense and we know Liverpool operate like this. The Reds weren’t going to sign a midfielder last summer, presumably because they didn’t want to spend funds on someone that wasn’t Bellingham. Making sure they had everything in place for the Englishman was priority one.

It’s similar to how things worked with Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk. Liverpool needed centre-backs on both occasions but waited until the player they wanted was available.

Like Konaté, Liverpool ended up making a loan deal to temporarily have cover. That time it was Ozan Kabak, this time it was Arthur.

And as with Kabak, the Brazilian doesn’t have a clear future at the club. He’s a place-holder, in effect, as Liverpool prepare for Bellingham.

Now they just need to get that one over the line.