Liverpool have 'no intention' of cancelling Arthur Melo’s loan deal in January, it has been claimed - and he is 'ignoring days off' to try and get up to speed as quickly as possible.
The Reds signed the Brazil international on loan from Juventus on transfer deadline day. The Serie A giants later claimed that Liverpool have the option of making the move permanent for around £32million at the end of the season.
Speculative reports this week have suggested Liverpool are underwhelmed by the signing of Arthur since his arrival. Tuttomercatoweb claimed that the Reds have already decided that the 26-year-old ‘is not at the level that was expected,’ and ‘does not fit the type of player that Klopp was looking for,’ as a result.
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That account also indicated the Reds want to sign a new midfielder in January and, if they succeed, they will terminate Arthur’s loan and send him back to Turin. But this claim has been dismissed by Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
Balague, who has experience of watching Arthur during the midfielder’s time in Barcelona, has provided an insight into how the Brazilian’s time at Liverpool has gone in the first two weeks.
“Liverpool have not decided to extend the loan or buy Arthur but have no intention to send him back in January,” wrote Balague on Twitter. “They are still assessing him.
“In fact the coaching staff congratulated him on his understanding of the system and his quality
“He decided to ignore days off to keep working as he knows he still has got [to] catch up with demands.
“He’s working on an individualised fitness plan to get him up to speed because he didn’t have a regular pre-season. Pretty standard stuff considering the lack of match fitness.”
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