Graeme Souness has admitted he has doubts about whether Wataru Endo will be able to cope with the intensity of the Premier League following his summer move from Stuttgart.
The Japan international was a huge favourite at the Bundesliga outfit and achieved one of his dreams by completing a £16m move (BBC Sport) to Anfield last month.
The Liverpool legend, however, has been impressed with how Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have hit the ground running but has urged Jurgen Klopp to find a replacement for Joel Matip who ‘can’t keep himself fit’ as well as adding another addition in the engine room.
“I like Szoboszlai and I am a big fan of Mac Allister,” Souness told The Mirror (via Liverpool Echo). “With Endo, we will wait and see. Getting good reviews playing in the Bundesliga doesn’t mean you will be a success in the Premier League, which is very demanding and the intensity is greater there than anywhere else. Let’s see how he deals with that.
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“The fact they offered over £100m for Caicedo tells you he [Klopp] sees that area as it needs strengthening. The way I see Liverpool right now is they have enough goals in the team, the defence is more than good enough, the keeper is more than good enough but the blend he is going to have to use in midfield is not quite right. I would like to see them get another central defender as Matip can’t keep himself fit and another central midfielder. Endo, with the money they paid, would suggest he is a squad player.”
Szoboszlai has been probably our best player so far this season after moving from the Bundesliga so he hasn’t struggled too much with the increase of intensity.
Endo hasn’t featured as much as our new No. 8 but let’s hope the same can be said for him in the coming weeks.
He started his first game for the club at St. James’ Park and lasted just under an hour with him looking slightly out of his depth in what was a chaotic and boisterous clash against Eddie Howe’s side.
It’s only early days in his Liverpool career but we believe we’ll soon see him at his dynamic best in the role that Fabinho that occupied extremely well for so long before his departure to Saudi this summer.
Ep89 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️