In the great book of wasted talents of the last decade, the name of Arthur Melo figures very prominently. Revealed under the colors of Grêmio at the end of the 2010s, the Brazilian midfielder embodied this rare breed of number 8 capable of dictating the tempo of a match. His transfer to FC Barcelona in 2018 was to be the springboard for a golden career on the Old Continent, where he was expected as one of the heirs of Andrés Iniesta. But between a healthy lifestyle that is sometimes singled out, an incalculable number of injuries and an inability to assert itself over time, the jewel of Ipora quickly lost track.
His arrival at Juventus in the summer of 2020, as part of an overvalued exchange with Miralem Pjanić costing 72 million euros, was to offer him a second wind. It didn’t happen. Unable to energize the Turin game, the Brazilian turned into a resounding flop and a financial burden for the Old Lady. What’s next? A crossing of the desert marked by disappointing loans, like a ghostly passage to Liverpool without the slightest start in the Premier League, then a barely more convincing parenthesis with Fiorentina.
Arthur Melo has appeared in all of Juve’s friendlies this summer
Sent back home to recover his health, Arthur started again at Grêmio where he finally found color and rhythm. But the former Blaugrana has never hidden his desire to return to establish himself in Piedmont, affirming his ambitions in La Gazzetta dello Sport last March : “ Luciano (Spalletti) appreciates having an organizing environment, a real pillar of the team, and this role suits me perfectly. Pizarro and Lobotka excelled under Spalletti, playing football based on ball possession and tactical intelligence. It’s not absurd to think that I might adapt well. We’ll see. »
And the Brazilian did not speak into a vacuum. Particularly sharp during the summer preparation, he put together a series of solid performances and earned an interesting amount of playing time by coming into play in each match. Entering the last year of his contract, Arthur Melo knows that he is playing big this summer even though he is already 29 years old. If he maintains this level of involvement, the bet could prove to be a winning one for Juve who no longer expected much from him. It remains to be seen whether his recent performances will eventually serve to create interest for the Turin club in order to recover some cash this summer, less than a year from the end of his lease.
