Liverpool defender Anderson Arroyo will move on loan to Spanish side FC Andorra for the 2023-24 campaign, it has been confirmed.
Following the trend set by Sepp Van den Berg and Rhys Williams already this window, the Columbian will look to gain more first-team experience and maintain his fitness.
The 23-year-old has been at Anfield since his £150k move from Columbian side, Fortaleza, back in the summer of 2017 but has spent every season out on loan due to work permit issues.
That’s seven season-long loan spells in total, in what might be the craziest football career we have seen at Liverpool in a long time.
Who is Anderson Arroyo?
Anderson Arroyo is a 23-year-old defender currently on loan at FC Andorra in his seventh consecutive loan spell away from Liverpool.
Arroyo is predominantly a right-back, but has also slotted into the heart of defence when called upon throughout his loan spells.
On the international stage, the 23-year-old has represented Columbia at Under-23 level on two occasions in the past.
Arroyo joined the Reds as a highly rated 17-year-old, expected to grow massively under the guidance of Jurgen Klopp.
However, issues involving securing a work permit has meant that Arroyo has never kicked a ball for Liverpool at any level.
Since then Arroyo has featured for seven different clubs, making 102 senior appearances across all competitions in countries like Spain, Czech Republic and Belgium.
The seven loan spells:
Arroyo started off his journeyman career with a maiden loan move to RCD Mallorca in Spain back in 2017, where he made just one appearance for the B team.
Despite the poor move, he was then sent out on loan to Gent in the Belgium league but failed to make a single appearance.
In 2019, the Columbian secured his third loan spell this time at FK Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic’s first tier, where he made just two first-team appearances.
The defender made a return to Spain in 2020, moving to Salamanca CF on loan. He made 21 appearances and played almost 2,000 minutes of football in that spell.
That improved loan move earned him a move to another Spanish side in CD Mirandes, which turned out to be by far his most prolific season.
Arroyo made a total of 42 appearances for Mirandes, which totalled approximately 3,300 minutes across all competitions.
Most recently, in the 2022.23 season Arroyo spent the season at Deportivo Alaves and made 22 appearances that season.
Does Arroyo have a future at Liverpool?
Despite the ongoing work permit issues, Arroyo only agreed a new contract at Liverpool in the summer of 2022 but no contract length was publicly disclosed.
That suggests that Jurgen Klopp may see some sort of value in the Columbian, should himself and the club be able to sort out the work permit issue.
If there was some sort of agreement on that side of things, then perhaps Arroyo could eventually slot into Jurgen Klopp’s squad as a fifth or sixth choice defender, like what the likes of Rhys Williams have done in the past.
However, it’s more likely that the club are waiting to make some sort of profit on the defender even if it is only for a few million.
If the work permit issue isn’t solved, then I expect this run of loan moves to continue until Arroyo leaves the club upon the expiry of his current deal at Anfield.
