Wataru Endo faces Liverpool change as major transfer decision becomes clear

He was the signing no one predicted and became a fan favorite hardly anyone would have predicted. But even an encouraging debut season wasn’t enough to soon start talks of a new arrival in their position.

Such was the campaign of Wataru Endo, whose eventual success and impact underlined why Liverpool should be in the market for another recognized defensive midfielder in the summer transfer window.

Endo’s arrival at Anfield just days after the start of the season in August was as swift as it was unexpected, with former sporting director Jorg Schmadtke using his Bundesliga contacts to sign for £16.25m from Stuttgart, a player who, then 30 years old, did. doesn’t exactly fit the Fenway Sports Group profile.

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Needs, however, must be given. Liverpool lost out to Chelsea in big moves for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia after the surprise departures of Fabinho and Jordan Henderson to Saudi Arabia.

The early signs did not bode well, with Endo starting just two Premier League games before December, with his Europa League outings inconsistent at best. But a turning point came with his cameo from the bench at home to Fulham, when he roused the Anfield crowd with some scintillating challenges and scored a late equalizer to help turn an imminent 3-2 defeat into – a 4-3 triumph.

Endo subsequently started every Premier League match he was available for, having shown the value of his experience and positional sense as he finally adapted to the intensity of the Premier League. Powerful in the air, his technique in possession was enough for Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to highlight how the Japanese and Alexis Mac Allister had transformed Liverpool’s midfield approach.

Endo’s form fluctuated at times. He was substituted at half-time, both home and away against Crystal Palace, although the Anfield defeat to the Londoners in April was the only time he started a Premier League game that Liverpool lost, being absent for reversals at Arsenal and only a substitute. in the last quarter setbacks from Tottenham Hotspur and Everton.

Indeed, the latest defeat underlined the importance of Endo, his aggression sorely lacking as Liverpool slumped to just their second derby defeat of the Jurgen Klopp era.

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Further evidence came in the last games against Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa when, after Endo was substituted midway through the second half, Liverpool conceded twice in each game.

While Mac Allister started several Premier League games as a number six, it was Endo who ended the season as the undisputed first choice in the position. However, he was never going to be a long-term solution to the defensive midfield problem. And with Mac Allister much better served in an advanced role and teenager Stefan Bajcetic nowhere near being a regular option so early in his career, more reinforcements are needed if new boss Arne Slot chooses to replicate the 4 approach Klopp’s -3-3.

If, however, Slot relies more on the 4-2-3-1, this would also suit Endo and may lessen the need for a new signing in the middle given the versatility of many of those already in the squad.

Either way, Endo will almost certainly be important again for Liverpool next season. But it may not be to the extent that he has emerged as an unlikely key man for the Reds this term.