Jurgen Klopp says ‘devastating’ Liverpool player will miss Everton clash

Fri 2 September 2022 20:16, UK

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Anfield newcomer Arthur Melo will miss Saturday’s derby trip to Everton.

The Reds signed the Brazil international midfielder on loan from Juventus on transfer deadline day.

However, Arthur does not yet have international clearance – Klopp expects this to come on Saturday.

Liverpool hope the 26-year-old will be eligible to face Napoli in the Champions League next Wednesday.

“My information is it will not happen until tomorrow, the international clearance,” Klopp told the Liverpool .

“We all hope he will be fine for Napoli.”

Klopp also confirmed that Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is “definitely out” due to a hamstring injury.

“For Naby Keita it’s a muscle injury,” continued the Reds boss.

“Ox [Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain] is a muscle injury also and they will be out for a while.

“Thiago [Alcantara] is the closest from all [of them]. I think the start of the week, next week, he will be in team training.”

Liverpool sign Arthur Melo – factfile

Arthur has been at Juve since 2020, when he joined from Barcelona in a reported £68.4m deal.

He had been at Barca for two years, having linked up with them from Gremio in a reported £27.9m deal.

Arthur has made 63 appearances for Juve and 72 for Barca, as well as winning 22 Brazil caps.

Earlier this year, wrote: “Arthur is a half-winger who focuses on possession and passes that start an attacking phase.

“He knows how to lower himself when receiving the ball, making him tough to intercept or tackle, and as a result he rarely loses possession.

“He has improved both in his long passing game and in his reading of the game without the ball.

“Arthur is a useful player if you want to lambada, not to go to war. Or rather, he can go to war, but he is certainly not temperamental.

“In possession he is devastating in all situations, in the sense that with the ball at his feet he does what he wants.

“In the phase of non-possession, he needs a system that helps him, as he is not particularly fast in the defensive transitions.”

Lionel Messi the Brazilian to Xavi, Andres Iniesta him “exceptional”, and Thomas Vermaelen he’s “incredible”.