With the departure of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, Liverpool is thin at the bottom of midfield. Even their supporters were worried about their “mess” after they failed to acquire Ecuadorian midfielder Moises Caicedo and Belgian midfielder Romeo Lavia, both of whom had left for Chelsea.
However, they quickly bounced back from that, first by signing Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo, who plays for Stuttgart. There is a good chance that they will make a move for another young midfielder in the future, but for the time being they have a player who can play regularly.
On the other hand, Stuttgart lost its captain before the new season even started. Sebastian Hoeneß said that although the loss is significant for the team, it could be solved with the current squad. He also said that a move to the Premier League was a dream come true for the players.
“Wataru Endo has been cleared by the club for talks,”
“He flew to England for a medical check and wasn’t in training today. At the age of 30 he now has the opportunity to join Liverpool in the Premier League. It’s a dream of his.”
“From the club’s point of view, we speak of an economically good package. From a sporting point of view, of course, I’m not thrilled. Wataru is an important player both athletically and personally. He’s our captain. He has made 99 of 102 possible Bundesliga games. He was always there in important moments.”
“But I won’t start lamenting. We regret it because we will miss him sportingly. However, we are confident that we will be able to compensate for this in the short term. We have the possibility to solve it internally with a strong force. In the long term we are looking for a replacement.”
The captain of Japan is expected to compete for a starting spot at Anfield and back up the final line, so how will he perform in his first time in England…?