Following Liverpool’s failure to land their top defensive midfield targets, Jurgen Klopp has justified the decision to sign Wataru Endo.
Endo, the captain of Japan, unexpectedly signed with Liverpool on Friday. The two parties agreed to a four-year contract.
After the Reds missed out on top targets Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, the 30-year-old’s acquisition seemed to come out of nowhere.
Instead of accepting the opportunity to transfer to Anfield, the young talents joined rival Chelsea for a combined cost of £173 million.
Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, two English talents who Liverpool had been trying to acquire, ended up transferring to Real Madrid and Arsenal, respectively, since they were too expensive for Liverpool to pursue.
As a result, some fans are not too pleased with the signing of Endo for the club, at least not in comparison to other players they had been associated with.
Klopp, however, maintains that his new No. 3 is extraordinarily gifted and the ideal addition to his squad, telling LFCTV: “I’m really happy.” Wataru is an excellent player.
“I understand how things work in the world of football and stuff like that, but look at him; he’s a really good player.”
“Experienced player, captain of Stuttgart, captain of Japan, good English speaker, nice guy, family man, footballing machine on the pitch and sensational attitude.”
So, I’m quite pleased. He plays football well, has a lot of experience, and enjoys working very hard.
Following the losses of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, and James Milner this summer, Klopp was in a critical need to bring in a defensive midfielder and a player with leadership qualities.