Jurgen Klopp and Wataru Endo of Liverpool
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had to appeal to owners FSG to sanction the signing of Wataru Endo with the capture of the Japan star breaking with recent transfer tradition at Anfield.
The 30-year-old schemer was a surprise signing by Klopp last week as he looks to bring in fresh faces into his midfield. Indeed, the Reds have lost six players from their engine room since last season came to an end. And while four of those departures were planned for, the losses of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson were not something Liverpool went into the summer window expecting.
And while Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai were quickly brought in – the latter already making a massive impression – Klopp and Co still remain light on bodies.
The Reds, though, have managed to add to their numbers with the capture of Endo from Stuttgart in a £16.2m deal last week. The holding midfielder, who has been handed the No 3 shirt, made his debut on Saturday during the 3-1 win over Bournemouth at Anfield.
However, it has now emerged that Klopp was forced to explain his reasons for wanting to sign Endo to the club Liverpool board. That’s after The Athletic claimed FSG needed it explaining to them why the Reds boss wanted to spend big on a player who already has over 440 appearances to his name.
Indeed, Liverpool have only paid a fee for one player over the age 26 since 2016 – that being the £27.3m paid to Bayern Munich for Thiago Alcatara in 2020.
However, it reportedly did not take Klopp long to convince the Reds of the wisdom of the move. And the article claims Endo has been signed to be a starter for Liverpool this summer.
Furthermore, The Athletic claims the arrival of the 50-times capped Japan star means Liverpool will not sign another No 6 this summer with Endo brought in as a regular starter for the Reds.
As a result, that may well mean that potential deals for the likes of Palhinha and Cheick Doucoure could now be over from the Reds’ point of view.
Nonetheless, Owen Hargreaves is adamant that Liverpool have snared an excellent player in Endo.
A close analyst of the Bundesliga, he has backed Klopp’s decision to bring the player to Anfield and revealed exactly what he will bring to the table.
“Out of possession he is brilliant, in terms of pressing the ball,” Murphy told Optus Sports. “He’s amazing in the air considering he’s only 5′ 10, honestly. His vertical, it’s insane.
“He was captain of Stuttgart, captain of his country. An absolute leader. He cost €20m (£16m) because he was 30 years old and had one year left [on his contract]. But I think they’ve got a bit of a steal there.”
Klopp insists Liverpool fans will love Japan star
Explaining his decision to sign him, Klopp is adamant that Endo will have the qualities that Liverpool fans will love.
“You know it is not traditionally like that [signing a player of Endo’s age]. The last player in that age group was James Milner. [It was a 30-year-old Ragnar Klavan in 2016.] It is always a discussion we have. The owners really want 200 games at 20 years old. That is pretty difficult.
“I didn’t need any kind of convincing. I know that the best time for a football player is from 27 to 33 in a normal career. It depends on injuries, of course. That is why I did not need to change anything and he was on my list from the beginning.”
He added: “It is a transfer that is not in the public eye. It’s not ‘Oh my God!’ and probably nobody at this moment is writing a new song about him. But wait. He has something that Liverpool supporters will love, definitely. He is already used to red a little bit, so that’s good, and when he puts that shirt on he will throw everything on the pitch and the people will love that.”
