As Luis Diaz looks to take the Premier League by storm in his full season in England, Liverpool's other Colombian is preparing himself for his sixth loan spell in the space of four years.
You probably won’t have heard much about Anderson Arroyo at this stage. Well, not unless you happen to be a keen watcher of South American youth football, or a fan of the Czech, Belgian or Spanish lower leagues, that is.
But Liverpool are certainly keeping a close eye on the 22-year-old’s progress, as he looks to build his profile in Europe.
David Woodfine, the club’s director of loan management, will be making regular trips to the Basque country this season, as Arroyo looks to take another step forward.
Before he did so, he extended his Liverpool contract until 2025. The Reds’ first-team may still be some way off, but at least he has another chance to catch the eye.
Alaves saw off hefty competition to land the versatile defender, who has represented Colombia at U23 level and was a team-mate of Diaz with the U20 side at the 2017 Copa America in Ecuador.
Arroyo was only 17 at that tournament (Diaz turned 20 during it), but acquitted himself well in a competition that was stacked with talent.
The likes of Richarlison, Lucas Paqueta, David Neres, Lautaro Martinez, Cristian Romero and Manchester United new-boy Lisandro Martinez all featured, with a Uruguay side containing Rodrigo Bentancur eventually emerging victorious.
Liverpool had already been alerted to Arroyo’s potential, with scouts watching at an U17 tournament in Mexico two years previously.
He was a left-back at the time, playing for Colombian second tier outfit Fortaleza CEIF, and after a series of successful trials on Merseyside, he eventually signed for the Reds in February 2018, immediately joining Mallorca on an 18-month loan deal.
His journey is a remarkable one. The son of a gold miner, Arroyo grew up in a remote, rainforest town in the impoverished Choco region of Western Colombia, a three-and-a-half-hour drive west from Medellin.
He joined Fortaleza CEIF, who were based in Cota, some 600 kilometres east, at 15, and would make 22 professional appearances in his three years there.
“It was a time of learning,” he later told WFi. “But it was an unforgettable time.”
At Liverpool, he was looked after by the popular Frederico Paciencia, then the club’s trials manager and now the assistant academy recruitment coordinator.
Paciencia is Portuguese, and so was able to liaise closely with the player and his family, ensuring that Liverpool saw off interest from Colombia’s leading clubs, as well as others across Europe, to secure Arroy’s signature.
Without a UK work permit, he was immediately sent out on loan. He played for Mallorca’s B team in the fourth tier of Spanish football, but was unable to break into the first-team, who had recently been promoted to the Segunda Division. As such, his deal was terminated early.
Getty/GOALStill, he enjoyed his time on the island.
“It was very pleasant,” he later said. “I didn’t get what I wanted, but I learned things which have helped me a lot in my growth and development.”
His next loan spell, at Belgian side Gent, was less enjoyable. He failed to make a single first-team appearance, and was banished to train with the reserves, the victim of an internal dispute within the club.
And his luck didn’t change when he returned to Liverpool, either.
In the summer of 2019, having spent a week training with Jurgen Klopp’s senior squad at Melwood, he was due to head off with them for their pre-season tour of America, only to suffer a fractured metatarsal in training which sidelined him for six weeks.
Once fit, he joined Czech outfit Mlada Boleslav, but by that point he was featuring regularly with Colombia’s U23 squad, who were preparing for the Olympics.
That led him into conflict with coach Jozef Weber, and restricted his opportunities with the Skoda-owned club. He featured only twice in the league during the 2019-20 season.
Liverpool, though, were unperturbed.
Julian Ward, now the Reds’ sporting director, liaised with Matthieu Grossin, the player’s agent, and it was agreed that Arroyo should drop down a level in order to secure regular football.
Getty/GOALA move to Salamanca, in the Spanish third tier, paid off, and after 21 appearances in 2020-21, he was able to step up again with a switch to Mirandes, where he became a virtual ever-present.
Now comes the latest challenge.
Alaves, relegated from La Liga last season, will be among the favourites to earn promotion this time around, meaning greater pressure and greater expectation. Arroyo expects to play, and in the right-back position which both he and Liverpool favour.
If he can shine, then senior international honours could follow. That, in turn, would boost his chances of securing a work permit, and maybe aid his dream of one day featuring in Liverpool’s first team.
“That is my goal, my wish, my dream,” he told liverpool.com earlier this year. “It is what I have longed for since I signed for the club, and I hope that dream comes true.”
“That is why, every day, I want to do things in the best way. I have to be there, and I will give it all to get there.”
Whether he achieves his dream, only time will tell. But he's certainly not about to give up on it just yet.
Who knows, maybe one day he and Diaz will be reunited in red.
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