Liverpool were right about Wataru Endo. Jurgen Klopp was not wrong in placing his trust in the Japanese midfielder. 

When Wataru Endo joined Liverpool in the summer of 2023, there were mixed reactions from Liverpool fans. They doubt the quality of the Japanese midfielder.

In modern football, the role of the central midfielder is very important. One piece of the puzzle can determine a team’s success. Man City has Rordi. Arsenal owns Declan Rice. As for Liverpool, it’s Wataru Endo.

When comparing Endo and Rodri or Declan Rice, it is not difficult to realize that the Asian midfielder is completely inferior. Endo is also far behind his colleagues in terms of popularity, experience playing football in the Premier League…

Initially, British media revealed that Brighton’s Moises Caicedo was Liverpool’s top transfer target. Chelsea stepped in, taking advantage of the power of money to win the race to sign the 22-year-old midfielder.

This forces Liverpool to activate plan B, which is Wataru Endo. After all, the former VfB Stuttgart midfielder played incredibly well. He quickly integrated into the Premier League environment and asserted his position.

In Wataru Endo at this time there is a resemblance to Lucas Leiva. The midfielder is not too tall or has a muscular body, but is full of strength. During the period from 2007 to 2017, Lucas Leiva developed himself and became an excellent defensive midfielder.

Lucas Leiva’s strength lies in his ability to maintain stability, predict gameplay and not be afraid of fierce duels. What the Brazilian midfielder can do, Wataru Endo can also do. Worth mentioning, he did that when he was 31 years old.

Before the match against Man City in round 28 of the Premier League on March 10, Opta pointed out Wataru Endo as a “scanner” in the middle of the field, the winner of 70 duels in 1,002 minutes in the Premier League. The former VfB Stuttgart midfielder also had 63 ball recoveries, 26 tackles and 10 successful interceptions.

Wataru Endo joined Liverpool for only £16 million. The number is too cheap on the technology market today. In theory, it is difficult for Klopp to ask for more from the 31-year-old midfielder and was not highly appreciated by experts from the beginning.

However, Wataru Endo surprised fans. His football also became a testament to the saying “not everything that glitters is gold, and not everything that is cheap is worthless”.

At Liverpool’s Anfield, Wataru Endo had one of his best performances since joining Liverpool. He became a solid anchor in the middle of the field. The steel shield defends against Man City’s powerful аttаck ability.

Achieving a passing accuracy rate of 96%, creating 1 chance, winning 6/7 duels, 4 successful tackles, 2 accurate interceptions and 6 ball recoveries are the parameters of Wataru Endo. On Man City’s side, Rodri had a hard day, going through one of the rare matches where he could not promote his role as the leader and master of Man City’s midfield. All because Wataru Endo messed up, leaving the Spanish star struggling to cope.

On social networks, fans joked that Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri and Erling Haaland were pocketed by Wataru Endo. The Japanese midfielder’s energetic play style, not afraid of collision, truly turns him into a “machine” – as Jurgen Klopp once described – to sweep everything on the field.

Everyone knows that Man City has excellent, if not the best, midfielders in the world. That is Rodri, a world-class defensive midfielder. Kevin de Bruyne, master playmaker. But at Anfield, Wataru Endo contributed significantly to blocking the power of Rodri and De Bruyne, making them unable to move the midfield.

In the summer of 2023, Liverpool said goodbye to Fabinho, one of the outstanding defensive midfielders in world football. They considered choosing Brighton’s Caicedo as a replacement, but then failed. That was also when Wataru Endo was chosen.

At the end of the day, the Japanese midfielder became an unexpectedly successful signing. And in the 2024 summer transfer window, Liverpool may not need to buy more defensive midfielders, because they already own Wataru Endo – one of the last gems discovered by Jurgen Klopp before he left.