Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano suddenly announced that Liverpool had reached an agreement to buy Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo from Stuttgart club.
Wataru Endo is the captain of the Japanese team and Stuttgart – Photo: REUTERS
Buy Japanese players after failing with superstars
This is definitely not a blockbuster deal. But it was a surprising transfer from Liverpool.
The “Red Brigade” has been looking to buy defensive midfielders throughout this summer. Especially after selling Fabinho and Henderson in July, Liverpool hardly have a midfielder capable of interception in the squad.
During the past 1 month, Liverpool have in turn contacted Khephren Thuram, Lavia, Caicedo… They got caught up in the race with Chelsea in 2 cases Caicedo and Lavia. And then they all had to surrender to the London team.
After failing with these stars, there are many rumors that Liverpool will ask for Crystal Palace’s Doucoure and Fiorentina’s Amrabat . But then the Anfield leadership suddenly turned to midfielder Wataru Endo.
The Japanese midfielder is 30 years old this year. He is famous as the captain of the “blue samurai” . In the World Cup 2022, Endo played fully in matches against Germany, Costa Rica and Croatia.
In 2018, Endo started going to Europe to play for Sint-Truiden club. A year later, the Japanese midfielder switched to Stuttgart and made a great contribution to helping this traditionally rich team return to the Bundesliga from the First Division.
Impressive statistics
After 4 years, Endo has made 133 appearances for Stuttgart. He was even given the club captain’s armband more than 2 years ago.
Like many other Japanese players, endurance, discipline and fighting spirit are Endo’s strong points. He was also rated by Whoscored as a player who is good at shooting from long distances and in the air.
Endo (right) once shone in the 2022 World Cup – Photo: REUTERS
According to Squawka, Endo owns many impressive statistics in the Bundesliga. From the 2020-2021 season, he is the player with the most successful defensive air battles (219), the most interceptions in the 1/3 home area (254), the most clearances ( 175)…
But Liverpool fans have many reasons to worry about the team. The Premier League is much tougher than the Bundesliga. Endo’s ability to integrate into English football will be a question mark. Especially when the Japanese player is 30 years old this year.
Under coach Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool also brought in a Japanese player, Minamino . He played not too bad during his two and a half years at Anfield, but was completely unable to compete for the starting spot.
According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Liverpool will have to pay Stuttgart a transfer fee of 18 million euros. This is quite a high figure because Transfermarkt values Endo at only 6.5 million euros.