Liverpool address midfield crisis with loan signing of Juventus' Arthur

Jurgen Klopp urged Liverpool's owners to take a "risk" when trying to strengthen his side's injury-hit midfield near the end of the transfer window.

Instead, the club opted for a low-risk loan deal for Juventus outcast Arthur Melo.

The 26-year-old joined the Reds on a season-long deal one hour before the transfer window shut Thursday. Liverpool paid €4.5 million to take Arthur for the rest of the 2022-23 campaign and have an option to buy him outright for €37.5 million.

The Brazilian will immediately challenge Harvey Elliott, Fabinho, Curtis Jones, and James Milner for a place in Klopp's three-man midfield while Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Thiago Alcantara deal with injuries.

Arthur made 42 Serie A appearances and played 13 times in the Champions League for Juventus over two seasons. He was involved in a lucrative and controversial swap for Miralem Pjanic in his 2020 move from Barcelona to Juve.

He started his career with Gremio and has 22 caps for his country.