Coach Dorival Júnior will announce, this coming Friday (1), the first list of call-ups for the Brazilian National Team. Brazil will face England and Spain in the friendlies on March 23 and 26.
Therefore, one of the names dreaming of a call-up is midfielder Arthur Melo, who was developed by Grêmio but had a forgettable stint at Barcelona and Liverpool, and is now rediscovering his good form wearing the Fiorentina jersey, one of Italy’s most traditional clubs.
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Arthur is one of the key players behind Fiorentina’s standout campaign in the Italian Serie A, where they currently sit in 7th place with 41 points, seven points behind Bologna, the first team in the Champions League qualification zone. The Brazilian has played 34 matches this season with two assists to his name.
Despite his low goal involvement numbers, Arthur, who plays in a deeper role for the Florence side, leads Fiorentina in pass accuracy (92%) and long pass accuracy (71%) in the 23/24 Serie A season.
Arthur, who is still owned by Juventus and on loan to Fiorentina, revealed that he received an inquiry from Fluminense. In an interview with the podcast Gringolândia on the ‘ge’ portal, the former Grêmio player also stated that he is focused on returning to the Brazilian National Team soon.
“Well, I can confirm that yes, there was this inquiry, there was this interest (from Fluminense). I didn’t speak with Diniz, but it was a privilege; he wasn’t even the coach of the Brazilian National Team yet,” Arthur began.
“But I already followed his work, wherever he went, he had good campaigns, great campaigns; all the teams he led had their own style of play, and for me, that is spectacular, the way he sees football and how his teams play,” he added.
The Brazilian has a contract with Juve until June 2025. It’s worth noting that Arthur arrived in Europe in 2018, signed by Barcelona from Grêmio, but only spent two seasons at the Spanish club. In 2020, he was sold to Juventus for €72 million (R$385 million). In his two years at the Italian club, the midfielder played 63 games and scored one goal.
