1 year ago
245 Jurgen Klopp had to convince the Liverpool hierarchy to deviate from their usual transfer policy to seal a move for Wataru Endo in the summer transfer window.
That is according to a report from The Athletic, which notes that the Reds are now not planning to sign another holding midfielder before the window shuts next week.
Wataru Endo was somewhat thrown in the deep end at the weekend. The 30-year-old may have expected to make his debut at some stage against Bournemouth. However, the Japan international came on shortly after Alexis Mac Allister had been sent off in controversial circumstances.
The Reds were able to see out the game. And Endo did a decent job once he settled into the contest, completing the majority of his passes, looking tidy in possession.
Klopp had to convince Liverpool to make move for Endo
It is obviously too soon to say for certain whether Endo will prove to be a smart signing. But it seems that he has got a big supporter in Jurgen Klopp, who labelled him ‘really smart‘.
According to The Athletic, Klopp had to convince Liverpool about a move for Endo due to the club’s preference to only spend on younger players. As noted in the report, Thiago Alcantara was the only previous player over the age of 26 who was signed for a fee since 2016.
It is not a huge gamble for a club of Liverpool’s size to pay £16.2 million for Endo. The risk will be the decision to not make further signings in that area of the field.
Clearly, the move for Endo does highlight that there are not a huge number of quality holding midfielders around on the market.
But Liverpool still lack depth in that particular position. So not signing anyone else would be a roll of the dice.
Hopefully for Liverpool fans, it is a sign of just how confident Klopp is that Endo will prove to be an inspired addition.
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