EPL: How Liverpool tried to sign Denis Zakaria

Arthur Melo was not the only Juventus player the Reds were interested in signing, but they ultimately decided to sign him on a season-long loan to address their engine room issues.

Denis Zakaria, a former teammate of Arthur’s, was also welcome to join Jürgen Klopp’s squad, according to Di Marzio.

Zakaria has since left Juventus for a short time, joining Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.

The contrasting profiles of Arthur and Zakaria may reflect Liverpool’s haphazard approach to signing a new midfielder this summer.

Jürgen Klopp refused to add to his engine room options throughout the transfer window, indicating a reluctance to do so.

But as the transfer window closed in less than 24 hours, the German realised he really did need a new midfielder.

Klopp opted to push for Arthur over Zakaria, a decision fans will be pleased with to some extent as Arthur is more comparable to Thiago Alcantara in his stylistic profile.