Jurgen Klopp drops Arthur Melo selection hint ahead of Napoli clash
According to the Liverpool Echo, speaking ahead of the UEFA Champions League against Napoli, Jurgen Klopp has dropped a hint on the chances of Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo making his debut for Liverpool.
Arthur joined Liverpool on a season-long loan from Juventus after falling out of favour at Juventus and Liverpool were in dire need of urgent recruitment, especially in midfield.
If the midfielder performs well then Liverpool have the option to make the loan deal move permanent. The Brazilian midfielder might have a chance to prove his worth earlier than he would have expected with the number of key players in Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all out of contention.
Asked whether we might see Arthur Melo making his debut (h/t Liverpool Echo), Klopp said:
“Can he play minutes? Yes. Should he play a full game? No
“He’s doing well, he’s really giving his all in training and we have to be careful with him as well. We’ll see if we can use him.”
Arthur Melo has been part of two giant clubs FC Barcelona and Juventus before joining Liverpool but his spell at the clubs was bang average with criticism of the player playing “too safe” at times.
With Fabinho and James Milner as the only fit midfielders available and Thiago just returning from injury, this presents an opportunity for Arthur to stack a claim in the team and no better time to show it than under the lights of the elusive Champions League.
However, Klopp was quick to point out that even if the player is part of the fixture, it is highly unlikely that he would play the entire game due to lack of match fitness and would most probably start on the bench.
Unlike us, Napoli have had a strong start to the season and are currently second in Serie A and it is in no way an easy fixture for us.
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Therefore, Arthur who is coming from a spell at Serie A would have a better knowledge of the opposition and Klopp would definitely be thinking of using it to his advantage.
It is imperative that we start our European season in the best manner possible and nothing short of a resounding win should be the objective for tonight.
