Liverpool reportedly have no plans to sign Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo on a permanent deal.
The 26-year-old joined the Reds on a season-long loan deal over the summer, with Jurgen Klopp's side entering the market late in the window amid their injury problems.
However, the Brazilian has only played 13 minutes for the senior team, coming off the substitutes' bench in the latter stages of Liverpool's 4-1 Champions League defeat against Napoli last month.
Arthur was sent to play for the club's Under-21s team against both Leicester City and Rochdale in a bid to build up his match fitness before featuring for the senior side.
The midfielder is also understood to have hired his own personal fitness team as he seeks to break into Klopp's starting lineup.
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However, Arthur has since suffered a major setback after sustaining a thigh injury in training and he now faces between three and four months on the sidelines after undergoing surgery over the weekend.
Arthur is believed to be in a positive mood despite his latest injury hindrance, and the midfielder is focused on making a speedy recovery in time to return to first-team action in the New Year.
It is thought that Liverpool have a £32.5m (€37.5m) option to buy the Brazilian from Juventus next summer, but journalist Ben Jacobs claims that the Reds have no intention to trigger this clause.
Jacobs adds that the buy option was just a 'give' in negotiations with the Serie A giants, but Liverpool always regarded the signing of Arthur as a straight loan deal.
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Klopp's side are instead planning to keep a significant sum of cash aside as they plan to spend big on a new centre-midfielder in 2023.
Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham is believed to be one of their primary targets, although they are set to face stern competition from the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea for the Englishman's signature.
The 19-year-old has excelled since moving to Germany from boyhood club Birmingham City in 2020, and he is allegedly valued by Dortmund at around £100m.
The likes of Lazio's Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala, West Ham United's Declan Rice and Leicester's Youri Tielemans are also believed to be on Liverpool's radar.
Oliver Thomas
