Federico Pastorello has stated he ‘had some luck’ when an injury to Jordan Henderson saw Liverpool sign Arthur Melo. The Juventus star joined in a one-year loan transfer in August.
Liverpool sought to agree a deadline-beating deal for the Brazilian while Jurgen Klopp dealt with a number of injuries. Henderson added to an ever-extending injury list at Anfield with a hamstring issue. The England star sustained the gripe in a 2-1 win over Newcastle United.
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Henderson joined Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones on Liverpool’s injury list at the time. Yet Arthur has been unable to help Klopp plug gaps in his midfield since joining the Reds. The 26-year-old has only played 13 minutes at the club.
Arthur watched two Premier League games from Liverpool’s bench after leaving Juventus in a loan transfer in August. He also made his Reds debut as a substitute in the Champions League against Napoli. But the midfielder tore his quad muscle while training this October.
The issue forced Liverpool to send Arthur for surgery and faced a three-month wait for the summer transfer to return. Fabrizio Romano has recently claimed the Reds want him 100% fit before the midfielder will play again. So, he is unlikely to play before the end of January.
Jordan Henderson’s injury sparked Liverpool to secure Arthur Melo’s transfer
Liverpool must rue Arthur’s lack of availability having only secured his transfer to manage the injury crisis Klopp faced. The midfielder’s agent, Pastorello, has now detailed how the move came about in August. He also cites £20m man Henderson’s issue as the real spark.
Pastorello told TuttoMercatoWEB: “We always remained on the spot by monitoring any injuries and other players’ performances. At the same time, we maintained contact with Liverpool’s technical management. Then we had some luck over the others’ misfortune.
“In August, Liverpool had to deal with several injuries and on 28, 29 August, while we were also negotiating with other clubs because staying at Juventus was the last of the hypotheses, it happens that Henderson gets hurt. At that point, they called us.
“It was the penultimate day of the transfer market. Liverpool called us saying they wanted to close the deal and from there we got down to business. We left for Liverpool on the last transfer day for visits and signings.”
Arthur’s transfer to Liverpool on loan from Juventus also included a £32m option to make it permanent, per Sky Sports. The Reds also paid the Bianconeri £4m for his year-long deal at Anfield. But Ben Jacobs noted in October that the Anfield outfit do not plan on buying him.
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