Liverpool Echo journalist Theo Squires has suggested that Jurgen Klopp could hand one Reds player a Premier League debut against Southampton on Sunday, depending on whether they’ll have anything discernible to play for.
By the time the fixture at St Mary’s kicks off, the Merseysiders could be assured of finishing fifth, depending on results for the teams around them between now and then.
Newcastle and Manchester United both need just one more point in the meantime to secure Champions League qualification, while anything less than a win for sixth-placed Brighton against Manchester City on Wednesday means they wouldn’t be able to leapfrog Liverpool on the final day.
If both of those materialise, which seems distinctly plausible, Squires has suggested that Klopp could field a much-changed Reds team for Sunday if they can do no better or worse than fifth.
Regarding the composition of the midfield, and an unfamiliar face possibly getting a rare appearance, the journalist wrote for the Liverpool Echo: “Arthur Melo could be handed his Premier League debut before returning to Juventus if Klopp is feeling sentimental.
“Still limited to just 13 minutes of action for the Reds, coming back in September, Liverpool have paid for him for the year so might as well use him properly at least once!”
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Injuries and general misfortune have ruined Arthur’s loan spell on Merseyside, with the 26-year-old playing only once for the club in almost nine months (Transfermarkt).
That came against Napoli way back in September, and he’s already confirmed that he’ll be going back to Juventus once the Reds’ season concludes next weekend.
If there’s nothing except pride at stake on Sunday, it’d be nice to see Klopp giving opportunities to players who haven’t featured much throughout the campaign, as well as those who are leaving Anfield in the summer.
The manager hasn’t always taken full advantage of opportunities to make wholesale changes in matches with nothing riding on them, sometimes naming strong line-ups even for Champions League games when Liverpool had already guaranteed first place in their group.
Nonetheless, it’d be impossible to begrudge Arthur one Premier League runout for the Reds if there’s scope for rarely-seen players to be given their chance in the starting XI.
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