Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness has suggested that new signing Arthur Melo could struggle on Merseyside.
The Brazilian arrived on loan from Juventus on transfer deadline day, as the Reds were searching almost desperately for cover in a position in which they have suffered a concentration of injuries.
After Liverpool initially targeted Aurelien Tchouameni early in the window, there weren’t many concrete links to midfielders. Reports did circulate that Liverpool tried to sign now-Chelsea man Denis Zakaria on the final day, but had to settle for his teammate in Melo.
At 26, the player has already played for some of Europe's top clubs, but has never featured for over 1500 minutes in a league campaign, sparking concern about his injury record.
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Souness certainly shares some concern for the 22-time capped international’s durability, writing in his column for the Daily Mail.
“There’s no doubting the quality of Liverpool’s latest addition, Arthur Melo, but will he be able to deal with the intensity of the English game, given that Liverpool play games of cup final intensity every weekend and everyone always has to be at it?”
It is a fair point from Souness, especially with Liverpool’s current midfield injury issues.
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Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson and Curtis Jones are out, with Thiago Alcantara only just coming back to full fitness in the 4-1 defeat to Napoli.
Arthur made his debut off the bench in the defeat, and looked tidy - but he will need time to get up to speed after not featuring at all for Juve this season.
He will be aiming to perform to a high standard to try to get into Tite’s World Cup squad for the winter but has only made one appearance for his national side since November 2020.
It is still very early in his time at Anfield, and will be aiming to impress to convince Liverpool to activate the £32m buy clause next summer.
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Topics: Liverpool, Graeme Souness
Chris Stonadge