Liverpool have signed midfielder, Wataru Endo from VfB Stuttgart for £15.4m.
Endo is Liverpool’s third signing of this summer’s transfer window after fellow midfielders, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai, whilst Fabinho Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and James Milner all left the club as part of Jurgen Klopp’s midfield revamp.
The 30 year-old also can plays as a centre-back if required which adds further tactical options for Klopp moving forward.
Endo has been a key part of Stuttgart’s midfield in the last four seasons with 15 goals in 133 appearances, with his last goal for Stuttgart having came in a 4-0 away win against TSG Balingen in the First Round of this season’s DFB-Pokal.
Liverpool have paid Stuttgart a £15.4m transfer fee for Endo, who has signed a three-year contract at Anfield until June 2027.
Speaking to liverpoolfc.com about his decision to move to Merseyside, Endo commented: “I’m very happy right now and I’m so excited to join a big club in Liverpool.
“It feels amazing and this is my dream. It’s always [been] a dream to play [in the] Premier League and with one of the biggest clubs in the world. It’s a dream come true for me.”
Klopp added: “Wataru is a really good player. I know in this world of football how it goes and stuff like this, but have a look, have a look, because he’s a really good player.
“Experienced player, captain of Stuttgart, captain of Japan, speaks good English, nice fella, family man, machine on the pitch, good footballer on top of that, sensational attitude. So, I’m really happy. He’s a good footballer, very experienced and loves to work extremely hard.”
Klopp also iterated that Endo is “in a good shape” and ready to go straight into the matchday squad and will play as a defensive midfielder, like he primarily did for Stuttgart.
The German too acknowledged that his style of play is “slightly different” but has admitted that he will “be cool” if Endo can “win challenges and pass the ball from A to B” from his first day at the club onwards.
Endo could make his debut for Liverpool at home to Bournemouth at Anfield this Saturday (19 August) in a 3pm BST kick-off.
The 30 year-old began his career with Japan’s Shonan Bellmare where he graduated through their youth academy and went on to score 23 goals in 167 appearances between 2010-15, before he enjoyed spells at Urawa Red Diamonds and Sint-Truiden.
Endo represents Japan internationally and has scored two goals in 50 international caps for his country, whilst he also featured in all four of their matches at 2022 FIFA World Cup which eventually saw Japan lose on penalties to Croatia in Round of 16.
Discussion about this post