Dominik Szoboszlai did not disappoint when asked to discuss the impact of fellow summer signing Wataru Endo.
The Merseysiders signed the Japanese international, alongside the No.8, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch, for a paltry £16.2m from Stuttgart.
His Hungarian teammate was generous with his praise of the 31-year-old, describing him as an ‘important’ member of the side and remarking on his ground-covering capabilities, as was relayed on X by Theo Squires.
Szoboszlai on Endo: Played against him at Stuttgart. He gets everywhere. I can understand why people think how is he there when I just passed him. I am happy to have him in my team. He shows he is important for the team.#LFC 🔗https://t.co/r5psA2gUMu
— Theo Squires (@TheoSquiresECHO) March 13, 2024
Jurgen Klopp’s men are set to take on Sparta Prague in the second leg of their Europa League Last 16 clash on Thursday.
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How good is Wataru Endo?
It would be dishonest of us to suggest the signing of Endo was one we were thoroughly overwhelmed with from the off.
The former Bundesliga ace was, initially, seen as a downgrade. Albeit, in the context of Liverpool’s failure to land either one of Moises Caicedo or Romeo Lavia.
How wrong we all were!
The sight of him harassing Kevin De Bruyne in the middle of the park is more than emblematic of his time in Merseyside so far.
What did Jurgen Klopp say?
Jurgen Klopp made it clear how important our No.3 would be in his first face-to-face meeting.
“We need you,” the German told the then 30-year-old. “We really need you, and your heart, and your legs and your football ability and your football brain. Your desire, we need it.”
Given the calibre of player lost in Fabinho – once a competitor to Rodri’s throne as the leading defensive midfielder in the Premier League – it’s remarkable how well we’ve acclimatised.
Alexis Mac Allister deserves serious praise for transforming expectations in the No.6 role. Of course, the expectation levels were there initially for the World Cup winner.
Endo deserves all of his plaudits, especially months after we were ridiculed for landing a Stuttgart veteran.