Shock turnaround on cards, as Liverpool contemplate cutting ties with big summer signing at earliest opportunity

Arthur Melo could see his loan spell at Liverpool interrupted in January if the club look to sign another midfielder, according to reports.

Liverpool brought Arthur in on a season-long loan on deadline day, despite it previously seeming like they wouldn’t be adding to their squad any further after the earlier arrivals of Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay.

A few injury issues meant it became a necessity to sign a midfielder while they still had the chance. It was something they had been thinking about for 2023 anyway – and probably still are.

For now, Arthur has arrived to plug any gaps. He is on loan from Juventus for the duration of the season, after which Liverpool will have the option to buy him permanently.

But he might not even get that far into his time with the club, according to the latest speculation. Reports in Italy, including one from Tuttomercatoweb, are suggesting that Liverpool could cut Arthur’s spell short in January.

While such talk may seem premature, there is a feeling that Liverpool might move for a more suitable midfielder as soon as the winter window opens. With that in mind, there may be even less space for Arthur.

Since his move from Juventus a couple of weeks ago, the 26-year-old has managed just 13 minutes of action for Liverpool. His cameo came as a substitute in a 4-1 defeat to Napoli in the Champions League.

In the subsequent Champions League fixture, a 2-1 win over Ajax, Thiago Alcantara made his return from injury. As a result, Arthur remained on the bench for the whole game.

The Brazil international will have to work hard to gain a regular place in the coming weeks. He is battling with the likes of Thiago, Fabinho, Harvey Elliott and James Milner for a spot at present.

Liverpool are also waiting to welcome back Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones, Naby Keita, Fabio Carvalho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain back from injuries.

Arthur Melo may have work cut out at Liverpool but any decision would seem premature

Clearly, there is a lot of depth in Liverpool’s midfield when all are available. The question is how much quality each individual possesses. Arthur will be aiming to establish himself at a high enough ranking.

But his time with Juventus showed that he needs to raise his consistency. For those reasons, they were willing to let Liverpool have him.

Yet to make his Premier League debut, though, Arthur will need to see an improvement in his gametime to prevent a premature return to Juventus. He is under contract with the Serie A side until 2025.

It seems like Juventus would rather not welcome him back. They turned their attention elsewhere this summer, by signing Paul Pogba and Leandro Paredes to strengthen their midfield.

But in theory, Liverpool could present them with a headache by returning Arthur to sender after just half a season.

Whether that would be the right thing to do is another matter. Liverpool have already paid a not insignificant sum to benefit from Arthur’s services for the season.

Therefore, they will surely want to give him more of a chance between now and January before making any definitive decisions.

If he struggles to match Jurgen Klopp’s style, though, maybe Liverpool could have second thoughts about Arthur Melo.

READ MORE: Thiago Alcantara labelled ‘different talent’ by Liverpool icon who played role in his transfer