Arthur Melo 'agreement' as Sadio Mane not biggest miss…

Arthur Melo 'agreement' as Sadio Mane not biggest miss for Liverpool

It's time for your Liverpool FC evening headlines on Sunday, February 26.

Arthur Melo 'agreement' revealed as plan for Liverpool midfielder emerges

Liverpool U21s manager Barry Lewtas has hailed the "unbelievable humility" of Arthur Melo after he continued his recovery from a long-term thigh injury by starting Saturday's 7-1 thrashing of Leicester City.

The 22-cap Brazil international, who joined the Reds on a season-long loan late in the summer transfer window, has only played 13 minutes for Jurgen Klopp's side and spent the last five months recovering from surgery on a thigh issue.

After returning to training ahead of the Merseyside derby earlier this month, the 26-year-old used the U21s' Premier League 2 fixture against the Midlanders to make his first start since September.

Arthur lined up in midfield alongside Bobby Clark and Dominic Corness and played the full 90 minutes as a phenomenal individual performance from 17-year-old Ben Doak inspired the young Reds to a deserved 7-1 victory. But despite the plaudits of the young Scot, Lewtas was left impressed by the qualities of the Brazilian.

"It's brilliant, really. We knew yesterday he was going to play," Lewtas told the ECHO at full-time. "Look at Arthur, he's had a fantastic career, played at some top clubs and played with some top players and at the minute is just finding his way back from injury.

"If we can help, I think it's a compliment to the way we play that we can give some senior players an opportunity, as well as some of the younger ones. He really adds something to us because he's got a lot of quality and you could see today when we were playing through Leicester Arthur played a big part in that."

He continued: "It's great for our lads to see someone of that level working his way back to fitness and is willing to come down and play. I think it shows unbelievable humility. It shows someone who is desperate to get back fit, get playing and find rhythm because he wants to try and play. I think it reveals an awful lot of character."

Read the full story HERE.

Sadio Mane is not the player Liverpool have missed most this season and not enough people speak about it

On his first Liverpool start for four and a half months, it was no surprise to see Diogo Jota tire in the second half at Crystal Palace.

Prior to Saturday night's goalless affair at Selhurst Park, the Portugal international had played just 77 minutes since suffering a serious calf injury in the closing stages of the 1-0 defeat of Manchester City way back on October 16.

Another 71 minutes were added to the tank in south London over the weekend as the former Wolves man provided a reminder of what he can offer with his tigerish pressing, selfless running and unquestionable work ethic.

The quality, however, is still understandably absent. Jota made the most of one speculative ball over the top in the first half before he was hacked down on the edge of the area. He also hit the outside of the post from an almost impossible angle from Joel Matip's cross.

A second-half attempt was flashed into the crowd after he had wriggled free to find some space from a tight angle in the Palace box before his efforts inevitably waned as the game wore on.

After such a long time on the shelf - one that also included him having to come to terms with missing the World Cup for Portugal - it is no shock to see that Jota is yet to take flight following his comeback. It would also be wholly unfair on him to expect an instant return to the sort of levels that saw him register 21 goals across all competitions last season.

Read the full story HERE.