Five years since joining Liverpool, a player signed by Jurgen Klopp is yet to play for the Reds’ first-team. Virgil van Dijk, Alisson, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah are just a few of the players signed by Klopp who have played significant roles for the Reds in recent seasons. Throughout his time at Liverpool, the German has had a solid success rate when it comes to transfers.
Of course, there have been transfers that have failed to materialize, with the loan signing of Juventus’ Arthur Melo so far proving to be a waste of money. The Brazilian has only played once for the club and hasn’t featured since last month, when he returned from injury. Here is another man, who after signing for the club in 2018 is yet to make his debut at Merseyside.
Liverpool defender signed on free transfer yet to make Reds debut
Across his stint s far at Liverpool, younger players have also been a focus for Klopp, who brought Fabio Carvalho, Harvey Elliott, and Stefan Bajcetic to Anfield under his tenure. However, despite the fact that all three of those youngsters have contributed in varying degrees this season, one more young player has yet to make his professional debut.
2018 saw the completion of Liverpool’s acquisition of defender Anderson Arroyo from Colombian club Fortaleza after the latter’s performance at the U20s South American Youth Championship garnered praise. The youngster was signed on a free transfer and a initial five-year deal.
However, since joining the Reds, the defender has spent time on loan at a few different clubs, but he has yet to make his competitive Liverpool debut. The 23-year-old, who can play both as centre back and right back, left the Reds on an 18-month loan for Spanish Segunda’s (La Liga second division) Mallorca. During his time with the club, he was allocated to the B team.
Soon after, that agreement was terminated, and the defender joined Belgian powerhouses Gent. Nevertheless, he did not play for the club. Thereafter, he also had additional loan stints at Salamanca in Spain’s third division and Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic. For the 2021/22 season, he then moved up a division in Spain and joined Mirandes.
This time, for the 22/23 season, he had briefly played for Deportivo Alaves, a team in the same division, but only made one league start in 2023. Although the Colombian agreed to a new contract with the Reds last summer, it seems unlikely that he will play for Liverpool. His current contract is up in 2025.
Arroyo does not currently have a work permit to play football in England, but according to Liverpool.com, if he plays in La Liga next season or makes a senior appearance for the Colombian national team, he may be able to obtain one. Although the youngster will hope to succeed at Anfield, there could be another loan move for him at the end of the season.
According to multiple reports, the Reds’ ideal scenario is for Arroyo to sign with a top-six league club in Europe, which would help with the requirements for a work permit. However, the club would consider any other loan proposals that arrive before the end of August, when the European transfer window closes, or could even sanction a permanent transfer as they plot a major overhaul in the summer.