Liverpool remove midfielder from Champions League squad
By Tom Gott
Liverpool have removed on-loan midfielder Arthur Melo from their Champions League squad for the remainder of the season.
Arthur joined on a temporary deal from Juventus during the summer but has been restricted to just one 13-minute appearance, which came in the 4-1 defeat to Napoli to open the campaign.
Currently out after undergoing thigh surgery in October, Arthur is expected to be back available in the near future but Klopp has made the decision to remove the Brazilian from his European squad entirely.
In his place comes new signing Cody Gakpo, while Klopp has also included both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita after initially leaving the injured duo out earlier in the campaign.
Right-back Calvin Ramsay, who has managed just two appearances this season, has also been removed from the squad to make room for the new additions.
Young Stefan Bajcetic is now eligible for the B List after surpassing two years on the books at Anfield and so Liverpool did not need to cut a third player.
Liverpool paid a £4m loan fee to sign Arthur and hold an option to buy him permanently for £33m, although the chances of triggering that always seemed slim even before the 26-year-old was removed from the Champions League setup.
Liverpool's European journey will continue on February 21 when reigning champions Real Madrid come to town.
The return leg is scheduled for March 15, with a tricky Premier League test against Manchester United sandwiched in between.