Jurgen Klopp has paid tribute to loanee Arthur Melo, who is set to leave Liverpool after the final day of the season on Sunday. Arthur has been one of the strangest signings of Klopp’s reign at Anfield, alongside the likes of Steven Caulker and Ben Davies. Liverpool paid a hefty £3.9 million to secure his services for the campaign, but a long-term calf injury hampered his progress and he has only clocked 13 minutes on the pitch for the club. In his programme notes for the Anfield closer against Aston Villa last weekend, Klopp confirmed his No. 29 would depart and lauded his “professionalism.” Arthur’s time at Liverpool should be viewed as an unfortunate season in which he was always set to be the odd one out. The club did agree a purchase option in their deal with Juventus, worth £32.3 million, but it was always unlikely that it would be activated. Despite this, Arthur proved a popular member of the squad at Liverpool and there was no consideration for him to stay beyond the end of this season.
