Arthur Melo is making it clear he is willing to do all he can to swiftly ensure he is ready to go at full pelt for Liverpool.
After insisting he didn’t need to sign a midfielder, a raft of injuries forced Jurgen Klopp’s hand and the German turned towards Arthur in the final throes of the summer window. But there is an acceptance that patience will be required for the 26-year-old, who had been deemed surplus to requirements before Juventus sanctioned the season-long loan.
Klopp has a tendency to ease new signings into his team, where he demands high-intensity performances, particularly from his midfield players. That will almost certainly be the case for Arthur, with Klopp admitting he will need plenty of work before he is thrown into the line-up.
"Arthur needs now just football - and training, especially, that's how it is," Klopp said earlier this month. “He is doing well, he is really giving his absolute all in training, we have to be careful with him as well and then we will see whether we can use him."
But Arthur isn’t resting on his reputation and clearly wants to be involved sooner rather than later. The Times report that he has employed his own personal fitness team to help give him a rapid fire pre-season.
Physiotherapist Adrian Martinez Castro, fitness coach Daniel Esteban Labarca Encina and nutritionist Joana Pessoa Dell’Oro have all joined Arhur on Merseyside as he looks to quickly get himself up to speed.
His entourage accompanied the midfielder to Anfield last week, although Arthur remained on the bench during the 2-1 win over Ajax. And with Liverpool’s last two Premier League games called off after the passing of the Queen, Arthur was forced to be creative in order to get minutes under the belt.
Reds Under-21 boss Barry Lewtas confirmed the deadline day signing had asked to be a part of their youth side, to keep up his levels during the international break. Arthur first played in the Premier League 2 clash vs Leicester City, before fitting in an hour-long cameo against Rochdale in the Papa John’s Trophy.
Spotland may not be the most glamorous location for the ex-Barcelona star, but Lewtas was full of praise for his application and his influence on the youngsters in his squad.
"Arthur has been in over the international break to play games and build up his fitness," Lewtas told the Liverpool Echo. That's off his own back, so that shows his level of professionalism. He has been great with the lads as well. He has been first-class.
"In training on Monday he was excellent, he really drove the lads and as a matchday minus one, it's probably the best one we've had. He wants to get fit, he doesn't need a week off, so it's come from him.
"He doesn't speak Scouse and I don't speak Portuguese, but I think you can tell from the body language. In the meetings we went through some extra things and cleared a few things up. He has embraced it.
"He first trained with us on Friday. He trained with the first team and then he had a session with us for the team that was going to play against Leicester. He'll do a little work with us during the international break."
