Arthur Melo’s road to full fitness continued on Tuesday night - with the Brazilian involved in one of the more eye-catching substitutions in recent history.
The Brazilian international was brought to Anfield in the final hours of the summer window, with Jurgen Klopp’s side facing an injury crisis in midfield. Signed on a season-long loan deal from Juventus, hopes are high that he will be able to contribute with the Reds once again competing on all fronts.
But after being deemed surplus to requirements by the Bianconeri, Arthur had a disjointed pre-season and Klopp admitted it will take him some time to get up to speed. "Arthur needs now just football - and training, especially, that's how it is. He wasn't in team training for a while at Juve, so he needs proper team training - and that's what we are doing with him," he said earlier this month.
"He is doing well, he is really giving his absolute all in training, we have to be careful with him as well and then we will see whether we can use him. He's a really good footballer – I think we all agree on that... he can give rhythm, he's a really good passer, has speed with the ball, safe on the ball."
He has thus far made just one appearance for the first team, but has been clocking up the minutes away from the limelight with the club’s development sides. At the weekend, the 26-year-old played 90 minutes for the Under 21s as they beat Leicester City in Premier League 2 action.
Youth coach Barry Lewtas was full of praise for the former Barcelona star and the impact he had on the club’s brightest young talents. “That’s obviously what sometimes this group can do. We talk about it a lot: we’re in the same building, we work closely together on how we want to play,” Lewtas said.
“It gives players an opportunity if they need minutes to come in and play some minutes and play in the way we play. So, it was really good. They’re top-level professionals. They add to our group as well, not just in terms of our performance but our young lads get to see what elite looks like.
“It works both ways. We can give them some minutes but they’re able to show us their professionalism and why they are where they are.”
And he was back in action with the youngsters as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Rochdale in the Papa John’s Trophy. But after a tidy 60-minute cameo, he was replaced by a player even more senior than him.
Jay Spearing, 33, was the man to replace Arthur, turning out for the last 30 minutes at Spotland. It was a change which quickly caught the eye on social media, with many still getting used to Spearing’s new role back at Anfield.
The midfielder, who made 55 appearances for the Reds after coming through the academy, has returned to his boyhood club in a dual coaching and player role. Whilst the majority of his time back on Merseyside will be dedicated to gaining coaching experience, he remains eligible as an overage player.
And although the change raised a smile or two, for Spearing, turning out for Liverpool again - in whatever capacity, was a prospect too great to ever turn down. "The first couple of weeks for me was about breaking down walls with the boys and speaking to the lads to let me on their side and to trust me,” he said of his new role.
"Once those barriers were broken, the football came easily, and I started to gain relationships on and off the field with the boys. We are now working on individual things and helping them get better. It has been an absolute honour to put on the crest and wear the red kit again. It just feels like home and there's not one bad word I could say about it."
