Football News : Liverpool wanted Denis Zakaria ahead of Arthur Melo

Last week, Liverpool reportedly tried to sign Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria before finalising a deal for his teammate Arthur Melo. Jurgen Klopp insisted that he wouldn't be adding a new player to the centre of the pitch for 2022-2023 for the most of the summer transfer window.

However, Klopp had a change of heart following a number of injuries to his potential replacements, which prompted a last-minute scramble to add a new player. The Merseyside giants were able to negotiate an agreement with Juventus for Arthur on deadline day, as the Italian team was eager to get the Brazilian off their payroll.

But according to Calciomercato, a deal for Arthur only came about after an agreement for Zakaria was unable to be reached. According to the report, Liverpool inquired about the Swiss international's availability before it became clear that Juventus' demands would not be acceptable to Liverpool.

Later on deadline day, it was widely rumoured that Chelsea's own efforts to sign Zakaria to their roster had yielded results.

Chelsea had already finished the transaction before the deadline, despite a formal statement being made two hours after the transfer window had closed. The Blues reportedly paid a loan fee of €3 million (£2.59 million), with the possibility of spending a further further €33 million (£28.47 million) on Zakaria if they decide to sign a permanent contract.

Liverpool apparently agreed to pay a loan fee of €4.5 million (£3.88 million) for Arthur,with the option to purchase the former Barcelona player for €37.5 million (£32.37 million) in 2023.

In terms of money, Chelsea seems to have gotten a better bargain from Juventus according to the short duration of the transfer window.

The Juventus administration had to decide whether to further reduce their pay bill when the club had acquired Leandro Paredes from Paris Saint-Germain.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are nowhere near to what the Reds fan were hoping them to be when this season kicked-off.

One of the reasons behind this could be the injury crises which the Merseyside giants are dealing with at the moment. It will be interesting to see how Jurgen Klopp uses the newcomer in the middle of the park.

Will Arthur Melo be offered a free role in the mid or will Klopp use him to hold the ball and play the possession game.

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