Brought in from Gremio, who is Barcelona's new recruit Arthur Melo?
Barcelona have completed the signing of Arthur Henrique Ramos de Oliveira Melo from Brazilian side Gremio, here are the five major things you need to know about him.
Here are 5 things to know about Arthur Melo Barcelona’s new signing
1. Arthur Melo is 21-years-old
Arthur Melo was born in Goiânia, Brazil on December 7, 1996, which makes him 21-year-old.
2. Arthur Melo played only for Gremio before his move to Barcelona
Arthur Melo move to Barcelona was his first professional move as he has played his entire career at Gremio.
He started his career at Goiás in 2008 before he moved to Gremio in 2010 and was promoted to the first team set up in 2015.
3. Arthur Melo is yet to play for the Brazilian senior team
Arthur Melo is Brazil and has played with the country’s youth setups at U-17 and U-20 level.
He is yet to make an appearance for the Brazilian national team a part of the standby list injury deprived him a chance to make the final team to Russia .
He has found it difficult to break through into the first team even though he was called up for the qualifiers against Bolivia and Chile.
Brazil manager Tite included him among the standby players for the 2018 FIFA World Cup but did not make the cut.
4. Arthur Melo the title collector
Arthur Melo had trophy success with his Gremio in the three seasons of his professional football career.
Arthur won the Copa do Brasil in 2016, the Copa Libertadores in 2017 and Recopa Sudamericana in 2018.
He was absent from the team that lost to Real Madrid in the 2017 FIFA Club World Cup.
He was included in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Team of the year in 2017 and won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Best Newcomer also in 2017 and will hope to continue with the reigning La Liga champions.
5. Arthur Melo similar to Andres Iniesta?
Arthur Melo is likened to Andres Iniesta who left Barcelona at the end of the 2017/18 season.
Melo likes to hold on to the ball and dominate possession in the middle of the park just as Iniesta, he, however, is more comparable to Xavier Hernandez who partnered Iniesta in midfield for several years.