Owen Hargreaves believes Jurgen Klopp has signed a ‘brilliant’ player in the form of Wataru Endo.
The Japan International signed for the Reds from Stuttgart in a £16.2m deal on Friday and made his debut as a second half substitute in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat of Brighton at Anfield.
With experienced midfielders Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Fabinho all leaving the club this summer Klopp’s side were in urgent need of a new deep-lying midfielder and have completed some shrewd business by bringing 30-year-old Endo to Merseyside.
“Out of possession he is brilliant, in terms of pressing the ball,” Hargreaves told Optus Sports (via Rousing The Kop). “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.”
Endo was introduced shortly after Alexis Mac Allister’s red card and he helped steady the ship at a very important period in the game.
Bournemouth could’ve very easily took control with the man advantage but Klopp’s players continued to work hard for each other and we held out for all three points.
Although Fabinho was far from his best last season he’s still a very difficult player to replace.
Following his move to Liverpool from Monaco in 2018 the Brazil international had become recognised as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.
Our new No. 3 will now be keen to make his own mark on the side and we look forward to seeing him shine further in a red shirt this season.
#Ep85 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Jan Åge Fjørtoft on Wataru Endo🎙️