There may have been a few raised brows over the signing of Wataru Endo at Liverpool.
The Japanese international was brought in after Liverpool failed to land either one of sudden first-choice Moises Caicedo and backup option Romeo Lavia – both ending up at Chelsea.
Instead, the Merseysiders turned to a £15.6m bargain buy hailing from Stuttgart – a signing Jurgen Klopp’s men were ‘100% convinced’ would become a key figure at Anfield, according to Fabrizio Romano’s tweet.
🔴🇯🇵 Liverpool were 100% convinced of Wataru Endo going to be an important player this season… and also a bargain signing.
Told Klopp made the difference as he approved Endo — considered ‘perfect, serious player’ and ‘top professional for cheap price’.
Fee: €18m 💡 https://t.co/eJNnKMqozk pic.twitter.com/atz0jvKcBR
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) December 27, 2023
READ MORE: Why Harvey Elliott’s goal was bizarrely ruled out despite Mo Salah shove
International tournaments couldn’t have come at a worse time
It’s such a shame, as our German tactician himself conceded, that we’ll be without the former Bundesliga man just as he’s finding his feet at the club.
The time spent in the first-XI of late – as evidenced by Michael Reid’s tweet on the matter – has most certainly been beneficial in that regard.
Today is Liverpool's 5th game in 13 days – and Wataru Endo is the only player to start all 5 of those games.
Endo is the first outfielder to start 5 games in 13 days for #LFC since January 2006, when Finnan, Carragher, Hyypiä, Gerrard, Kewell, and Crouch all did so. #BURLIV
— Michael Reid (@michael_reid11) December 26, 2023
With Alexis Mac Allister expected to be back in January, there’ll be little in the way of opposition to the Argentine picking up where he left off at the start of the month.
It’s not the end of the world given the quality of footballer who’ll be slotting back into the No.6 position.
And it’s reassuring to know that our World Cup-winning ace has genuine competition for a starting berth in this side whenever Endo returns from international duty.
📖 Anfield Annals: John Smith – Liverpool’s Red Knight and Most Successful Chairman